The Keeper Of Sins
by ApolloGeek27
Summary: Frisk always thought that Undertale was just a videogame that people in the Before used to play. They would have never imagined that it would become their new reality after their untimely death. Now, Frisk must journey through the Underground while keeping their soul intact. And maybe, with their DETERMINATION they might help the Underground have their own "Happily Ever After".
1. The Fall

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" _Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. That surrender, even the smallest act of giving up, stays with me. So when I feel like quitting, I ask myself, which would I rather live with?"_

― _Lance Armstrong, It's Not about the Bike: My Journey Back to Life_

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I stared at Mt. Ebott with wide eyes. The legends and tales surrounding the mountain fascinated me just like everything else in this universe did. I've never heard of Mt. Ebott in the Before but I suppose it might have existed. Many of the same things that exist here had also existed in the Before. In fact, I could recall mentions of it along with conversations about the popular videogame _Undertale,_ which was probably based off of the legends of Mt. Ebott.

I don't remember much about _Undertale._ I only remember the bare basics of the game. All of the information I gathered about the game was by second hand. Most of it was fragment information anyways. I do remember, however, that the playable character's name was Frisk. At that time, I was amused at the fact that someone would actually name the character _Frisk_. Now, I'm not so amused.

I suppose its karmic redistribution that I'm now named Frisk. It's a nice enough name. Gender neutral enough for me to adjust to it, which is a plus. Though it still bothered me on an instinctive level to be called Frisk. After all, it wasn't the name I had Before. Being called Frisk was a slap in the face from the world. It reminded me that the person who I was once was dead and that everything from the Before will never be mine again. In the end, I will always be Frisk and just Frisk.

Unless I die again and get reborn. I frowned at the thought of having to re-live my life over again. The thought of going through another one made me feel sick. I could still remember the early moments of my current life. When I first awoke after my death I became depressed. My family, my friends, and my life from the Before was . . . gone. Everything that I had was just . . . gone.

I wasn't mentally stable when I was born. I wanted to die the first few years of my life. The knowledge that Mother died giving birth to me didn't help as well. I dealt with severe guilt through the years. It was only the thought of Father dying from alcohol poisoning that kept me from taking my life. It didn't matter in the end though. Father died a few years later in a car accident. He was driving his car while drunk, somehow managing to drive it right off a cliff.

I always knew he had problems with alcohol. He often used it as a crutch to be a functioning adult since Mother died. With her death he became distant and often tried to drown his sorrows. He never drove while drunk, but I suppose that by the time of the accident he just didn't care about his safety anymore. My father's death worsened my depression, thoughts of suicide became more frequent afterwards.

After the accident, Grandpa came home to take care of me. He was a traveler, taking me with him on his journeys all around the world. Grandpa would have stayed at home to take care of me if it wasn't for the fact that staying in one place made him uneasy. He was too much of a free spirit to have been chained in one spot.

It was Grandpa who helped me on the road to mental wellness. He once told me, "Buddy, it isn't your fault that your parents passed away. Sometimes life's just hard on people. It beats 'em to the ground, shreds their hope 'n compassion, and tries to take all the love in their little, itty-bitty bodies just 'cause it can. But, let me tell you, you shouldn't just take all of that lying down. Your Mother was a fighter and you're a fighter too! So Frisk, stay **DETERMINED**. 'Cause that's all you can do in a world like this."

Ever since then, I tried to live my life. I couldn't bear to disappoint Grandpa by wasting away. I still treasure that memory close to my heart. And, whenever I felt that the world was too much for me, I remembered the words he told me. A rough cough interrupted my reminiscing. I turned to face the person and a smile automatically formed on my face. His weathered old hand ruffled my hair softly while his eyes twinkled in good humor.

"Hey, buddy. What's wrong? You're not thinking about my hospitalization again, are you? I told you before that this was just a one-time thing. I'm still strong enough to carry an ox. See!?" Grandpa flexed his arms in exaggeration. I giggled a little at how silly he looked.

A cough interrupted my giggles. I focused on Grandpa and the sight I was met with made me rush out of my seat and to his side. Grandpa was bent down, blood dripped down his chin with every cough he hacked out.

"Grandpa! Please, sit down." I gently moved him to lay back down, berating myself inwardly for being distracted enough to forget exactly why we were near Mt. Ebott currently.

Grandpa was born in a small village near Mt. Ebott and thought it would be a nice idea for me to visit his childhood village. It was supposed to be a bonding experience. However, when we got to the village, Grandpa collapsed. He ended up catching a sickness from one of the villagers and had to be entered into the medical clinic. Grandpa wasn't as young as he used to be, and when he caught the sickness, he fell hard. He was confined to bed rest for three weeks, but was too stubborn to stay in bed.

"Grandpa, I really wish that you would stay in bed. The doctors said that bed rest is needed to help you recover." I fussed over him. Grandpa huffed in exasperation.

"I don't need to be in bed anymore. I'm perfectly fine." I rose an eyebrow at him. "Aw, buddy, c'mon. Don't give me that look. No ten year-old should look like that!" Grandpa whined.

I pinched my nose in frustration. "Grandpa, please. Just rest for a little while. I worry about you sometimes." Grandpa sighed.

"Fine, I'll sleep. It's time for a nap anyways." He replied theatrically. I smiled at his silliness.

After making sure that he was truly sleeping, I stepped out of his room and left the clinic. I wanted to take a walk to organize my thoughts.

I was worried. Every day since his collapse, Grandpa has grown weaker and weaker. He's been coughing out blood and sleeping more and more. Most of the medicine that the doctors prescribe him never helped. I'm scared that one day, when I come visit him, the doctors will declare him dead. I don't think I could handle losing him.

While lost in my thoughts, I ended up stopping nearby a post sign that read, 'Mt. Ebott Hiking Trail'. I stared at the mountain and felt curious. I remember Grandpa once told me that his great-great-great-grandmother's sibling once climbed the mountain and disappeared. It was said that they came back from the mountain after a few years, dead, and in the arms of a hideous beast.

I wanted to explore the mountain to see if the legends of monsters living underground were true. It sounded like a fun adventure. However, the thought of leaving Grandpa made me hesitate. I didn't want to make him worry about me. But, on the other hand, Grandpa would be happy if I did something fun. It was only when I glanced at the mountain once more that my indecision faded away.

I was **DETERMINED** to explore the mountain.

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I regret my decision. So far, all I've come across in the mountains was the sight of animals running away from me. I contemplated many times just turning back. But, when I tried to turn back, the annoying itch in my brain made me keep going. By now, it was more likely that stubborn pride was the only thing pushing me forward.

While I was dragging my feet on the hiking trail, something interesting caught my eye. It was some sort of mirage that glimmered multiple colors, almost like a rainbow. However, when I tried to look closer, the mirage disappeared. I would've dismissed the odd occurrence, if not for spotting it again, but farther from where it originally was. I decided to investigate the unusual phenomenon.

It didn't occur to me until later, when I stepped near the entrance of a rather shallow cavern, that I had left the hiking trail entirely. And that I was probably lost. But catching a glimpse of the familiar rainbow glimmer in the cavern made all those thoughts leave my mind. I chased after the glimmer deep into the cavern. The need to _know_ burned in me brightly. For a second, I felt as if my entire being was being electrified. It was as if my very soul was pounding in anticipation.

Soon, I turned a corner, and the sight that I was met with left me breathless. In the middle of the cavern, laid what I could only describe as a liquid pond of color. It flashed brightly against the dark walls, all shades of blue, red, green, yellow, orange, indigo, and cyan glowed like sparkles. It was as if the soul of a rainbow was being made in there. I was hypnotized by what I was seeing and moved closer to verify if this was an illusion or not.

However, I soon tripped on a hidden crevice on the floor and fell into the pond. But, instead of drowning, I just kept on falling and falling . . .

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And falling . . .

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And falling . . .

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 **[Player Two Ready!]**

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 _Have you ever thought about a world where everything is the same . . . except you don't exist? Everything functions perfectly without you. Ha, ha . . . the thought terrifies me. [ . . . ] Please forget about me._

— _"Goner Kid"_

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	2. The Flower

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" _Someone who smiles too much with you can sometimes frown too much at your back."_

― _Michael Bassey Johnson_

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* * *

 **You wake up on a bed of flowers.**

I returned to consciousness with a childish voice ringing in my ears. The first thing I see are golden flower petals surrounding my form. I blinked in surprise. The fact that a strange voice was telling me what was happening was unusual. I squinted and tried to turn around to see who was talking to me when I felt a stinging pain in my back. It was then I remembered exactly what happened.

I twisted my lips in amusement. It appears that I tripped and fell down a rainbow well. Though how a rainbow well actually existed was beyond me. I sighed lightly and idly wondered where I was. The fact that I fell down the 'well' meant that I probably landed in one of the caverns in the mountain. But, considering that no one made a big fuss about the rainbow well, it must be one of those undiscovered caverns.

 **The thought of being stuck down here makes you scared.**

I blinked at hearing the strange voice once more. This time it was in shock because the voice responded to me _in my head._ I wasn't talking out loud at all. Instead I was going through the situation in my mind. The fact that the voice knew exactly what I was saying and responded to me meant that it was in my head. And it wasn't even my inner voice considering the fact that the other voice sounded way too different.

That meant either one of two things: A) I'm apparently insane or B) there is someone stuck in my head. Considering the fact that insane people shouldn't logically figure out that they're insane, that leaves out the most ludicrous option; there is someone stuck in my head. After figuring that out, I decided to tentatively greet the new resident in my conscious mind.

 _Hello?_

 **. . .**

 _Can you answer?_

 **. . .**

 _What's your name?_

 **. . .**

 _Please, talk to me._

 **. . .**

The voice didn't answer back. It made me wonder if I was hallucinating the voice. It was possible since I did fall down the well. For all I know, I could've gained a concussion from the fall. Though I probably wouldn't know unless an ambulance checked me over. After all, falling down into a cavern was dangerous.

I turn my head to face the hole from which I fell down from and the sight that I was met with shocked me.

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 **[Undertale]**

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I blinked. The sign was still there. It was then that everything hit me. Mt. Ebott, Frisk, the disembodied voice. Not to mention the thought that first came to mind when I saw the stupid mountain, _Undertale._ I was in _Undertale!_ I died and went inside a stupid _videogame_! My whole life, my family, ripped away from me! And, when I get a second chance in life, _it's in a videogame!_ A stupid, fucking _videogame!_

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I . . . I-I calm down quickly. The anger, the pain, even the tears that I shed from the discovery quickly disappear. My mind was blank. I felt empty. I took deep breaths, in and out. In and out. In and out. In . . . and out.

It was only sometime later that I thought about the occurrence clearly, still staring at that damn sign. Instead of focusing on the fact that my life is a _videogame,_ I try to focus on how I quickly and efficiently calmed down.

I'm in a videogame, and judging by the fact that I could see the game sign, that meant I'm the main character or playable character. By how quickly I calmed down and rationalized the situation, despite how absurd it is, that means I probably inherited the Gamer's Mind. Which means I could handle extreme trauma. It's why I'm calm about the fact that my life is a videogame.

Since I have the Gamer's Mind, I probably also have the Gamer's Body. I flex my arms a little and smile at the fact that I can't feel any more pain. Quickly, though, my smile turned into a frown. After all, having the Gamer's Body meant that violence would be in my future. The ability to quickly recover from attacks might sound incredible, but that meant that I have to fight people. I'm not really eager to get hurt or do violence.

Not to mention the fact that the video game I'm in is _Undertale. Undertale_ , the one videogame I never even played. I try to remember anything I can of the game. The few things I remember is that a dead person is the narrator, killing is a no-no, and that a talking flower is an evil prince in disguise. Oh! And that flirting is a game option.

I slowly got up from the ground. Exploring the place where I fell down would probably help take my mind off of the entire situation. It's better that way. Thinking about the situation might make me relapse into my depression again. I don't want to relapse. I might not recover this time.

 **You find a tombstone in the corner of the room. It reads [Here lies ******* **.] You cannot read the name. It appears to have been burnt away in grief.**

I stare at the tombstone that the voice- that the Narrator –directs me to. I wonder . . .

 _Is this your name?_

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I huff at the answering silence.

 _Whatever, I'm going to call you Narrator, okay? But only until we find out your real name!_

 **. . .**

I sigh in frustration and decide to just sit on the tombstone. I don't remember much about the game but I'm pretty sure a llama is supposed to come and introduce me to the game mechanics. So, I got comfortable and leaned on the tombstone, waiting and waiting . . .

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And waiting . . .

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 **But nobody came.**

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I don't know how long I've been waiting for the llama but I don't think I can wait any longer. My empty stomach growled at me. If the llama wasn't coming for me then maybe I should go to them. And, perhaps, they might have some food to share with me.

 **The thought of getting something to eat fills you with DETERMINATION.**

I blinked in surprise at hearing the Narrator talk to me again. But it was the words that the Narrator spoke that made me think that finding the llama was the right choice. So I headed straight towards the opening in the cavern. Passed the opening is a dark hallway that went straight ahead. What really interested me was the overabundance of golden flowers growing on the wall. The smell they carried was sweet, yet it held a bitter undertone and reminded me of the tombstone strangely enough.

I wonder if the Narrator's body was buried in the patch of flowers I landed on. If so . . . then that's really creepy. Knowing that the place I landed on is someone's grave disturbed me. The fact that their spirit is now residing in my head makes it even more disturbing.

 **There is a light up ahead. Seeing it fills you with DETERMINATION.**

Seeing the light that the Narrator talked about made me rush ahead. I soon entered the cavern. The first thing I spotted was another patch of golden flowers. However, in the middle of the patch was a giant flower with a . . . face. I took one step forward. This caused the flower to face my direction. It's . . . face had a wide, friendly smile on it. But the sight of it made me feel uneasy.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey the Flower. You must be new down here, right?" said the flower. I blinked a bit in astonishment.

"Your name . . . is _Flowey?_ " I replied hesitantly. Flowey blinked in confusion then smiled innocently.

"Yep. Why? Is something wrong with my _**name**_?" He asked. I shivered in fear at the way he sounded the last word out.

 **You feel that there is something sinister about the flower. You decide to pay heed to the feeling.**

I slapped a smile on my face hoping to convince the creepy flower that I was a naïve, innocent child. "No, it's just that Flowey is a very unusual name . . . and uncreative." I muttered the last part under my breath but by the way Flowey twitched, he probably heard me.

"Well this is the Underground, after all. Monsters here are very silly . . . but they're also really dangerous! So, how 'bout your new pal Flowey show you how life works down here." Flowey said, his smile looking unnatural on his small face.

"Sure thing!" I chirped out. I also moved backward just in case I had to run away from him. Man, only in the game for a few hours and I already have to fear for my life. Flowey smirked.

He then pointed at me and pulled back his leaf. A strange sensation washed over my body and out popped a small, fragile-looking heart. It glowed with a bright red glow and pulsed as if it was alive. Under my soul were the words **[LV 0]** and **[HP 20/20]**.

"That's your soul!" Flowey pointed to the heart. I stared at my soul in wonder.

"My soul . . . ?" I quietly whisper.

Flowey nodded his head, "Yep. It's basically the representation of your entire being. Right now your soul is really weak. See your LV? It's at zero right now. However, if you kill any monsters you encounter then your LV would level up. This would cause your HP to level up too! That's a good thing because if any monsters hurt you, you'd have to rely on your HP to not go down to zero. If your HP went down to zero, well, bye-bye human!"

One of the first things I remember from _Undertale_ was to not kill any monsters, otherwise something bad might happen. Another thing was that a talking flower was an evil prince in disguise. Given how Flowey was telling me to go on a killing spree then that meant that Flowey was probably evil. And a prince. But being evil was what concerned me more.

"What does LV stand for?" I asked, a little curious despite the bad feeling I have. Flowey, honest to god, glowed at the question.

"Why, LOVE, of course! Here take some of these 'friendliness bul-pellets'. These will help increase your LOVE." Flowey summoned small, white objects and sent them in the direction of my soul.

I tried to move my soul to the side by imagining it doing the action. My soul moved to the side and dodged the pellets causing me to sag in relief for my quick thinking.

"Hey! Why'd you move?" Flowey yelled out in anger. I stared at him in disbelief.

"You just told me that I gained LOVE if I killed monsters. Which means that the only way to gain LOVE is through killing. (The fact that you gain _LOVE_ from killing people is so messed up.) Then you almost called your "friendliness pellets" bullets." I explained while trying to move from the position I was in. But it seemed that I was stuck here until my soul reentered my body.

Flowey stared at me in surprise. Then a creepy expression crossed his face. "Well, golly! It seems you're not as stupid as I thought you'd be. But you're stuck now! Heh, what an idiot. In this world, IT'S KILL OR BE KILLED. And it seems that the second option is for you!" Flowey laughed demonically.

He then summoned a circle of bullets and shot them right at my soul. However, before they touched my soul, a huge fire ball slammed into Flowey, causing the bullets to disappear. The grip on my soul went away and I fell on the floor.

Flowey screamed in pain and immediately burrowed his way underground. "My, my, what a disgusting creature! Torturing children. Oh, how far has monster kind fallen?" A gentle voice asked.

I turned to face my rescuer and saw a . . . goat. A talking goat with clothes, but still a goat. Seriously?! What's with the monsters down here?! First a talking flower, now a talking goat! What next? Skeletons, ghosts, maybe even a talking fish!

 **Seeing a friendly monster fills you with DETERMINATION.**

"Thank you for saving me." I said gratefully. The goat smiled down at me.

"No need to thank me. What he was doing was wrong." She, and it's definitely a she, replied.

"My name is Frisk, Frisk the Human, apparently." The goat helped me up from the floor and checked me over to see if I had any injuries.

"What a beautiful name. I am Toriel, Caretaker of the Ruins. Please come with me, my child. Staying out here as a human will be very dangerous. If you come with me, I will provide you with shelter and food." Miss Toriel smiled at me and held out her hand.

 **Go with Mom to her home? [Yes/No]**

I stared at her hand. Even though she saved me from Flowey, who's to say she wouldn't just kill me herself? Should I go with a monster who might potentially kill me later?

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Eh, the Narrator trust her and she doesn't scream evil monster to me. Plus, if she does try and kill me than I will just have to improvise. After all, distrusting everyone will just turn me paranoid. I grab her hand and mentally reply to the Narrator.

 _Yes._

 **Trusting Mom, you began the next step on your journey. You are filled with DETERMINATION.**

* * *

( * )

 _Flowey: Do you trust me?_

 _Frisk: No_

 _Flowey: Good choice._

 _\- incorrectundertalequotes_

( * )


	3. The Mother

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" _A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts."_

― _Washington Irving_

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* * *

My hand was small. Intellectually, I knew that. After all, I had the body of a ten-year old child. However, it only hit me now that my hand was small. Miss Toriel's paw dwarfed my hand in size and, for once, I actually felt like the child I was. The warmth that emitted from her hand made me feel safe. I idly wondered if this was what a mother's hand felt like.

"Welcome to the entrance of the Ruins, my child."

Miss Toriel waved to the majestic looking twin staircases with leaves as red as blood surrounding them. The picture it painted was like the entrance to a royal castle, with all the gold and red surrounding it. In-between the twin staircases, however, was a brightly shining star. It glowed brightly as though it was welcoming me to the Underground. I was about to step forward and touch the star but Miss Toriel's voice made me pause.

"Come, my child. We must continue on." She said while pulling me to the stairs.

 **Touch the star.**

Hearing the Narrator tell me to touch the star, I press my hand on it before Miss Toriel and I pass it on our way to the stairs. The star glowed a bright cyan and a voice, different from the Narrator's, sounded out.

 ***FILE SAVED. You PATIENTLY await for your return home, knowing that when the time is right you will leave the Ruins. But, for now, enjoy the eccentrics' of a new world.**

I blinked and the voice was gone, along with the cyan glow. The star looked the same as before, as if nothing happened at all.

Miss Toriel pulled me into a new room. The new room had six stones sticking out from the floor. In front of the stones was a yellow lever.

"The Ruins are riddled with dangerous traps and puzzles, put in by my ancestors to protect the monsters living in here at that time. However, many monsters left, with only me and a few others staying. The traps and puzzles are still active, let me show you how to disable them and proceed safely forward." Miss Toriel explained.

She let go of my hand and went forward to solve the puzzles. After stepping on four of the six rising stones on the floor, she went and pulled down the yellow lever from its former position. This caused the closed door to rumble open.

"So cool!" Intellectually, I knew that I was in a game. But to see it in real life was a different experience altogether. Miss Toriel chuckled at my excitement.

"It's very interesting, isn't it? Now come, my child. Into the next room." Miss Toriel once again grabbed my hand and pulled me into the next room.

The next room had canal systems with bridges that went over them. On the walls, near the canals, were more yellow levers. At the very end of the room was a hallway. But it was blocked with steel spikes. Some of the yellow levers were probably connected with the spikes, causing them to open or close the room.

"Here, my child. Try and solve this trap. It would be good for you to know how to solve traps in case you ever leave my side. Know, however, that I will try my best to help you if you need it." Miss Toriel let go of my hand and pushed me forward. When I looked back, she gave me an encouraging smile.

 **Seeing her encouragement fills you with DETERMINATION.**

I went to the levers and saw that some of the levers have yellow arrows pointing at them. I pull all the levers with arrows down. Suddenly a rumbling noise shook the room. When I checked the hallway, the steel spikes were gone.

"Good! Very good, my child. Now come, onto the next room." Miss Toriel pulled me into the next room. Her praise felt nice. It was as if a mother was congratulating their child on an achievement.

In the next room was a toy dummy. Next to the toy dummy was an open door. As far as I can see there were no traps or puzzles here, which seemed odd to me. Miss Toriel must have caught the queer expression on my face because she soon explained why we were here.

"As a human living in the underground there will be many monsters who would attack you to gain possession of your soul. Because of this, you will need to learn how to defend yourself from them. However, many of these monsters will try to gain your soul out of belief that if they do, they would be able to leave the underground.

Most of them do not mean any malice or evil when they try and fight you. So I would suggest that you try and peacefully resolve any engagement you get into. Many of the monsters seeing that will leave you alone. It might be hard to be peaceful but I believe in you." She smiled at me again with encouragement. The fact that she believed that I could peacefully resolve every fight that comes my way . . . really warmed my soul.

 **Mom's belief in you fills you with DETERMINATION.**

Miss Toriel then waved to the dummy, "Please practice on the Dummy." I stared at the dummy, then took a few steps closer. Once I was close enough my soul popped out.

However, right under my **[LV 0]** and **[HP 20/20]** was a black board. On the board were four little boxes: **[FIGHT]** , **[ACT]** , **[ITEM]** , and **[MERCY]**. The **[MERCY]** button was grayed out indicating that I haven't reached any of the requirements to leave the battle yet. All the other buttons were glowing, however.

Remembering what Miss Toriel told me, I decided to press **[ACT]**. In **[ACT]** were two options: **[CHECK]** and **[TALK]**. I chose **[TALK].** "Please don't hurt me. I just want to walk to the next room peacefully. That's all. I wish you no harm."

The Dummy stared at me and said nothing. When I looked back at Miss Toriel to see if I was doing okay, I saw her smiling at me. Despite the fact that I was talking to an inanimate object and humiliating myself in order to appease Miss Toriel's desire for peace, I have never felt as happy as I did when I saw the proud expression on Miss Toriel's face.

When I turned back to the Dummy, it spoke. "Ok. I won't hurt you." I jumped in shock. I-It spoke! What the heck?! Miss Toriel's giggling made me focus on her again.

"Ah, my child. You didn't think I would have you practice on an ordinary dummy, did you?" Miss Toriel said, smiling. The expression on my face must have told her 'Yes. Yes, I did.'

She giggled again. "Ah, seeing you so baffled has made me feel ten years younger. Please, though, you should focus back on your fight."

Miss Toriel then pointed at my board. When I looked at the board the **[MERCY]** button was glowing. To spare myself the embarrassment of being spooked by the Dummy again, I quickly pressed **[MERCY]**. This opened two options to me: **[SPARE]** and **[FLEE]**. After pressing **[SPARE]** the fight ended and I gained **[0 LV]** and **[0 GOLD]**.

"Now come, my child. The next room, I fear, might be too difficult for you. Please hold my hand. I will guide you to safety." Miss Toriel took me into the next room. The next room didn't look too dangerous. In fact, there was nothing in it. The only interesting thing about the room was the weird brick pattern on the floor.

I was about to ask Miss Toriel why the room was dangerous until she pulled me into the room up ahead. While the room from before seemed harmless, the one in front of me screamed 'Danger'. The whole room seemed to be a giant canal with a bridge that reached the other side. However, what screamed 'Danger' to me was the giant spikes that covered the entire bridge.

Miss Toriel didn't seem fazed from the giant spikes and ,instead, headed straight for them. I almost screamed, if it wasn't for the Narrator piping in.

 **Mom seems to know what to do.**

After hearing that, I decided to trust Miss Toriel. My trust was not misplaced. When Miss Toriel came close to the spikes, they were retracted, leaving an empty space for us to walk on. We walked in a zig-zag pattern and soon reached the other end of the bridge. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in and clutched Miss Toriel's paw closer to me in relief.

It was in the next room that Miss Toriel let go of my hand.

"Now, my child, I would like you to wait in this room for a while. I have some errands to do to make the Ruins much safer for you. Many of the puzzles and traps in the other rooms might be too dangerous for you to handle, so I implore you to wait. Here, take this cell phone. If you need me for anything just call. I will come to you. Be good, alright?" Miss Toriel said, a melancholy expression on her face. I clutched the phone tightly as I watched her leave the room. Once she left, the Narrator popped in.

 **Do you want to explore the Ruins? [Yes/No]**

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 _Yes._

* * *

Toriel hummed in happiness as she took a secret passage in the Ruins that led directly to her home. It's been some time since a human child fell into the Underground. Seeing the child's wide-eyed wonder at the Ruins healed some of the scars that she still held in her heart from the other children.

Thinking about the others brought tears to her eyes. God, they were _so_ young. And for Asgore to just kill them in cold blood . . . ! It made her incredibly angry. She was determined that this child, Frisk, won't be the seventh victim of his tyranny.

A bright light startled her out from her thoughts. Ahead of her was her home. Small, wooden, but homely. She quickly entered her home and went into her kitchen.

The child was probably hungry and, given the state of their clothes, hasn't eaten for a while. Perhaps making her famous cinnamon-butterscotch pie for the child might help. She started to take out ingredients left and right. Soon, she was half-way done with the pie.

It was then the thought that Frisk might not want cinnamon or butterscotch came to her. Some of the children that fell down here didn't like cinnamon, others didn't like butterscotch. Then there were a few children who couldn't eat either due to allergies.

If she gave the pie to Frisk, would they eat it? Or perhaps they might die from allergies. Toriel quickly grabbed her home phone from the side table and dialed Frisk. The phone gave a click and Frisk's voice sounded out.

"Yes, Miss Toriel? Is something wrong?" Their voice sounded a little breathless.

Toriel twisted the phone cord and answered. "My child, I must ask. Do you like cinnamon? Do you like butterscotch? If it's on your plate, will you turn your nose up on it?" The other end of the phone was quiet for some time.

"I like cinnamon and butterscotch."

Toriel sighed quietly in relief and smiled. "I am glad. Thank you for waiting patiently my child. I will come back soon to get you." Toriel was glad that Frisk was waiting for her back in the safe room. Knowing that, she could relax enough to finish the pie in peace.

". . . Yeah. Um, yes. I am. Waiting for you that is. Bye." The phone clicked, signaling the end of the conversation.

Toriel stared in puzzlement at the phone. Frisk sounded strained. Toriel wondered if Frisk was in trouble but soon banished the thought to the dark corners of her mind. Toriel knew that if Frisk was in trouble they would call for help. Frisk was an intelligent child, as shown with them solving the puzzles and traps. They were probably just hungry.

Toriel continued on with baking the pie, humming a little tune. Its been years since her home has had someone else, other than her, living in it. The thought of hearing the pitter-patter of feet in the, otherwise, lonely home made her ridiculously happy.

The oven alarm rang out, signaling that the pie was ready. Toriel put on her baking mitts and pulled the pie out from the oven. She put the pie on the cooling rack, waiting for it to cool down. Once it was cool down, she wrapped it with tin foil so that it would still have a little warmth when she brought Frisk home.

Toriel soon approached the door. But, before she could open it, a knock sounded out. Toriel blinked in surprise. Who could that be? Many of the monsters in the Ruins don't approach her home, so who could be knocking? Toriel opened the door.

Right in front of her was Frisk, a little bruised and dirty with a familiar faded ribbon in their hair. "Oh, my child! Are you okay? Why are you here? I thought I told you to wait for me?" She fussed over Frisk, looking over them for any injuries.

"Sorry, Miss Toriel. I couldn't wait very long. I'm okay. I wasn't very . . . Ahha . . . hurt." Frisk said with a sheepish grin. Toriel sighed in relief. Hearing the yawn she smiled.

"Why, my child, you must be very exhausted from traveling here. I'm sorry I left you down there. I sometimes forget that children are restless. For now, let us go to bed. Tomorrow you can tell me the story of how you came here." She carried Frisk into her home and up the stairs.

Frisk protested, "Please, Miss Toriel, I can . . . Ahha . . . walk on my own!"

Toriel regarded Frisk with amused eyes. "Yes, I can see that from all your yawning." Toriel opened the child's room that she prepared, just in case any children fell down, and walked in to settle Frisk in the room, tucking them in.

"Now, my child. When you wake up, I will have something for you to eat but, for now, goodnight." Toriel whispered. I promise nothing will hurt you as long as I'm there, Toriel thought.

Toriel was about to leave the room when she heard Frisk mutter, "Goodnight, Mom." Hearing that, tears were brought to her eyes. Toriel slowly closed the door to the room and replied to the sleeping child across the door.

"Goodnight, my child."

* * *

( * )

 _Frisk: Well, danger is my middle name!_

 _Toriel: That's a lie. Your middle name is Cutie Pie._

 _-incorrectundertalequotes_

( * )


	4. The Heartache

( * )

" _War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend."_

― _J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers_

( * )

* * *

 **Mom left a cinnamon-butterscotch pie on the night stand.**

I woke up not to the pink canopy surrounding me, or the warmth of a hand-knit quilt wrapped around me. Not to the smell of flowers on the nightstand, or even the softness of a plush toy. No, I woke up to a voice in my head. The voice of the dead.

I slowly opened my eyes and glanced to my side. And there, behold, was a pie. And I bet that if I ate it, it would taste of cinnamon-butterscotch.

 **Something tells you that you might need it for later.**

I sighed at hearing the Narrator again. It seemed to me that they are only helpful when I'm in danger or when I needed encouragement. I touched the side of my head, feeling the blue ribbon I equipped to remind me of that fact. I quickly grab the pie and put it into my inventory.

And, oh boy, what a surprise _that_ was. Having an inventory. Having the power to put any object I have in my grasp into my very own hammer space where only I can access it. That really blew me away.

I check my inventory, noting that the cinnamon-butterscotch pie was slotted next to the toy knife I acquired from my journey to Toriel's house.

And wasn't that intriguing. The fact that other children fell down here. I wondered if they also had the same mechanics for the game as I have, but considering the fact that Frisk is the _only_ playable character in _Undertale_ , probably not.

It wasn't hard to guess what happened to them afterwards. They were probably killed down here. After all, many of the people who were missing from Mt. Ebott never came back. And most of them were children. Looking back, hiking on the mountain was probably a stupid idea.

I move out from under the quilt and step out onto the hardwood floor. I grimace at how dirty my shoes are and move to the drawer on the other side of the room.

There I find a pair of snow boots, jogging shorts, and even a net shirt I could wear. I quickly change my clothes, saving my striped purple and blue sweater. It was probably dirty, but that wouldn't stop me from wearing it. It was the only thing that I had of Mother.

Speaking about mother . . . I blushed, remembering what I called Miss Toriel last night. When I finally made it to her home, I was exhausted. Going through the ruins without dying once was a miracle. I only made it through due to the monster candy I picked up earlier. Not to mention the spider donut that helped me survive Napstablook.

When I finally saw Miss Toriel, I relaxed. A little too much it seems. When she tucked me into bed, I automatically called her 'Mom'. I couldn't help myself. The feeling of being cared for, of being loved, made me wonder if this was what having a mother was like.

Still, calling her 'Mom' was probably a bad idea. I might have offended her. But she didn't seem mad. So, maybe, calling her Mom wasn't a bad thing.

 **It seems that something is going on downstairs.**

The Narrator brought me out from my thoughts, directing my attention to the humming I heard downstairs. I quickly put my striped sweater on and opened the door to the hallway.

Once out of the room, I followed the humming downstairs. There, in the living room, was Miss Toriel- Mom –sitting down in a lounge chair, knitting something. Right next to her was a steaming cup of tea and a plate of . . . snails?

I cleared my throat, making Mom look towards me. "Oh, my. You're awake? I hope that you got a good night's rest." She said with a smile.

"Yeah, the bed made my body quit on me pretty quick . . . Mom." I replied, a shy smile painted on my face. When she heard me call her 'Mom', her eyes were practically sparkling.

"Oh, my child. Come, sit here. You need to tell me of your adventure coming home. I am quite curious." She patted the lounge chair next to her.

I walked to the chair and sat down. But, before I could speak, Mom gasped. "Oh my, I forgot. You must be hungry. I will get you some more cinnamon-butterscotch pie for you to eat. The one I left for you might not have satisfied you!"

She quickly went into the kitchen and came out, in her hands was a steaming pie with a fork placed on the side of the plate. She put the pie on my lap and returned to her place in the lounge chair.

"There! Now you can eat while telling me about what happened."

I blinked at the pie and quickly cut a piece of it and stuffed it in my mouth. Ahhh, what a delicious pie~.

 **Eating the pie fills you with DETERMINATION.**

After eating the pie, I began to speak. "It was hard to go through the Ruins. Many of the traps and puzzles were clever and dangerous but they were easy to pass through as long as you figured them out.

I met many monsters on the way here. I got into a lot of fights but resolved them all without getting hurt much. There were some monsters who didn't fight me. In fact, they helped me out. I actually made some friends with them. A lot of them were very cute. I even ran into this ghost! They were a pretty nice, yet sad fellow."

While she was processing what I said, I placed the plate and fork on the stand next to me. "My, that was . . . eventful. I am glad that you weren't hurt from neither the puzzles nor the monsters. You even made some friends with them!" Mom looked relieved.

"However, there was something I was quite curious about." I tilted my head to the side.

She smiled at the action. "My child, please answer me honestly, where did you get that ribbon in your hair?" She looked nervous.

I licked my lips in thought. Telling her might get me more information about this place. Something I need desperately considering that I'm completely blind down here. She might even tell me more about the so-called War between humans and monsters. I take a deep breath and answered.

"I found the ribbon in one of the corners in the Ruins."

A sad look crossed Mom's face but disappeared as soon as it came. I bit my lip and decided to ask the questions that have been bothering me the entire time I was in the Underground.

"Uh, Mom, I wanted to ask you: Did any other children fall down here? If they did, what happened to them? Did they also get attacked by monsters? And why do boards come up when I engage in fights with monsters? What does LV mean?

Also, why were monsters trapped in the Underground? And how come there is no evidence of them on the surface? No one remembers the war. And many humans don't even believe that monsters exist. In fact, Mt. Ebott is the only place that believes in monsters."

Mom blinked in surprise at the barrage of questions I threw at her.

"I will try to answer all your questions, however, it might take a long time. So please, get comfortable." I snuggled into the chair in response. She smiled at the silly reaction.

"Many other children fell down here. About seven, actually. And, unfortunately, all of them are d-dead." Her voice hitched when she spoke the word 'dead'. "You see, everything all began with the first fallen child."

Mom took a deep breath and began telling the story.

"When the first fallen child fell into the Underground, the Prince of Monsters found them and brought the child to the King and Queen. The King and Queen, seeing how lost and scared the child was, brought the child into the family, making them royalty. Hope bloomed in the Underground with the happiness of the Royal Family.

However, one day, the child became very sick and died. Later that day, the Prince was missing. He was found coming back through the barrier, slowly turning to dust. In his arms, his dead sibling.

He told his horrified parents that he brought his sibling to the Surface so that they may die surrounded by their favorite flowers, Buttercups. However, when the humans saw him, they attacked him. The Prince did not fight back and instead ran back home, where he would soon die on the Golden Flowers of the kingdom."

My heart twisted for the tragedy that occurred.

It was then a thought occurred to me. This story sounded shockingly familiar. In fact, it sounded like the story Grandpa once told me about his family.

"Mom, mom, this sounds like the story Grandpa told me!" She seemed concerned. "What do you mean, my child?"

"Grandpa's family lived in the village at the base of Mt. Ebott for generations! He once told me of how his great-great-great-grandmother's sibling once disappeared into the mountain.

Many people in the village wondered where they went. However, after a few years, they came back. But they were dead. And they were in the arms of a bea- monster.

Many of the villagers thought that the monster killed them. So they all gathered together and decided to fight the monster to stop it from killing all the other village children. But the monster escaped.

Do you think that the monster with my dead ancestor could actually be the Prince and the first fallen child?"

Mom's eyes were wide open in shock at the suggestion.

"I-I . . . oh. Oh. Oh, my. E-Everything was a misunderstanding. A-A misunderstanding! Oh, god. Oh, god, why?! Why, Asriel?! Why?!" She sobbed in despair. Her paws covered her face, but it couldn't stop the tears from falling.

I quickly got up and hugged her, offering whatever comfort I could. From what she said before breaking down in hysterical sobs, the monsters must not have known the human side of the story. They must have thought that the humans killed the Prince for no reason.

I wondered who Asriel was. Were they connected to the Prince?

A keen of anguish made me lose my train of thought. It didn't matter. Mom needed me.

After a while, Mom calmed down. I was afraid to go back to my seat, but with a weak wave of her paw, I sat down.

"I-I'm sorry, my child. What you have told me was . . . hard to digest. However, it makes much sense. I know that humans are not evil, that they wouldn't have harmed As-the Prince for malicious pleasure. The fact that the hope of the Underground died because of a misunderstanding is . . . heartbreaking." She weak smile on her face.

"Finding out that you might be related to Ch-the first fallen child, though, is surprising. But, now, when I look at you, I can see the similarities. You have the same hair style and bone structure." Mom commented.

"Wait, you know how the first fallen child looks like? B-but that was eight generations ago!" I shouted in surprise.

Mom giggled, "Monsters age longer. In monster years, I might be the equivalent of a 40-50 year old woman. While in human years, I might be 2000-3000 years old."

I felt dizzy. The fact that Mom was born before the Dark Ages was astounding! It was something that was I couldn't imagine.

The light-hearted atmosphere disappeared, however, when Mom sighed. "I suppose I should continue on with the story."

I gently told her, "You don't have to do that! If it makes you uncomfortable then you don't have to continue."

"No, no, I'll continue. You need to know this information anyways, since you're going to stay here." She glanced at me, a tender look in her eyes.

A sudden weight appeared in my chest. I felt guilty. I wasn't going to stay here. I couldn't. Grandpa was still sick, he needed me. I can't just leave him in the hospital all alone, leaving him to think that I was dead.

Mom continued on, not noticing my guilty demeanor.

"After the death of the Prince and the first fallen child, the King declared that any human who fell into the Underground should be killed and their souls brought to him. He wished to use those souls to break the barrier and declare war on the humans for what they had done to his son. The Queen, hearing this, disappeared. She did not want to be part of such horror.

Many of the children who fell traveled through the Underground to the only other place that had a way beck to the Surface. It was the gateway the Prince used to enter the Surface. And it was located in the King's home.

Despite how foolish it seemed to travel directly to the person who ordered for their death, many of these children were desperate to go home. And, one by one, they were slayed by the King. Oh, those poor children."

At that last sentence, Mom stared off into space. It was like she was lost in her own mind. I watched her in concern. She must have took care of the children that died, the child's room she had was proof of that. Hearing about their deaths must weigh a toll on her.

I shake her lightly, snapping her from the daze she was in. "Uh, oh. Sorry, my child. I was lost in my own world for a second." She apologized to me.

I shook my head, "It's okay."

She smiled at the concerned expression on my face.

"Well, I should probably continue on, shouldn't I? Boards! Long ago, in the beginning of the world, monsters were a very . . . uncivilized species. Monsters often killed for territory, spouses, and food. They even killed just for the sake of killing. Monsters were born with magic, so we often used it for killing as well.

However, a problem soon occurred. Our species as a whole was slowly numbering us down to extinction.

The strongest monsters of that time, seeing slow extinction in their future, came together and used their magic to create the boards. These boards were created so that whenever a magic user went into a fight, they would pop up to assist said magic user.

These boards helped weaker monsters avoid stronger monsters, find other ways to resolve conflicts, communicate to other monsters, stop unnecessary killing, and even gave time for monsters to flee when in trouble. Because of these boards, many monsters stopped killing others, making the population increase as a consequence.

And, LV. Well, LV is actually called LOVE. However, LOVE is an acronym for ' **L** evel **O** f **V** iolenc **E** '. It was what monsters used back then to distinguish who was dangerous and who was not.

With LV comes EXP. EXP is also an acronym. More specifically, it is an acronym for ' **EX** ecution **P** oints'. EXP made it so those monsters with high levels of LV should be killed due to how dangerous they were. Often many monsters formed mobs to execute those kinds of monsters." She explained.

"Wow . . ." That was the only thing I could say to the entire lecture. To think monsters had such a blood thirsty history . . .

The smile Mom wore, however, soon faded away with what she had to explain next. She pursued her lips and had a pensive expression on her face.

"As for the War between humans and monsters . . . well . . ."

* * *

 _Toriel could remember everything as if it just happened yesterday._

 _The quietness of the night, the cold chill of the air, and the twinkling of the stars surrounded her once more. She was back in the familiar hallway of her family mansion. Blending in with the shadows, she placed her ears against the hollow walls of her home on the Surface._

 _In front of her eyes was a door that was opened slightly, allowing the burning light of a candle to shine out. She held her breath, hoping that the stillness of her body would make her pass by unnoticed._

 _She was in the dark eavesdropping on her parents like an unruly child. If Father saw her right now, he would be trembling with rage! He would twist her ear and scold her that a proper princess does not eavesdrop on other's conversations like a simple commoners boy!_

 _But Father didn't see her. No, Father was in the other room right now, fighting with Papa. She tried to remember the number of times her parents ever fought and came up blank._

 _A shout from the room brought her attention back to the present. The familiar voice of Papa was unnaturally loud in the quiet mansion. "ERNEST WINDSOR! How could you! Engaging our little monster to . . . to . . . to those fools! It's their fault that we're in this mess. It's their fault that the War began. Why should we reward them with our little monster's hand?!" Engagement? Fools? The War?_

 _Toriel blinked. What were they talking about? Who was she engaged to? Who started the War? What was going on?_

 _A large bang startled her out of her thoughts. "HAAKON! Enough! Those fools are our King and Queen! It doesn't matter if they started the War or not. In the end, we will do our duty and side with the Royal Family like always!" Father said._

 _The Royal Family? What about the Royal Family, Toriel thought, what do they have to do with this?_

 _A large sob came from the room. "Why, Ernest? Why? What they did . . . ? What they have done . . . ? To my own nephew . . . To all of monster kind . . . Why?" Papa cried._

 _T_ _oriel heard a sigh, then the sound of a chair being pushed. Toriel heard the sound of footsteps walking somewhere before stopping. A shadow blocked the light. All Toriel could she was one figure holding onto another figure._

" _Oh, Haakon. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, my dear. I-I . . . We are the Windsor family, cousins to the Royal Family. Because of that, we must always side with them. To not do so makes us weak. And even though you might have been an Atkins, you are now a Windsor, forever and always._

 _Toriel must be engaged to the Prince. It was ordered by our King, to strengthen the ties between our families. I know you are upset, but think of this: our little princess will one day become Queen. And, maybe, she can fix the mistakes that we made. Maybe peace can come again."_

 _Father's voice was soft and sweet, one of the rare times Toriel has heard his voice sound like that since the War started._

 _Toriel quickly left, hearing what she wanted. All the information that she learned swirled around in her mind. The thought of being engaged didn't surprise her much, most people got engaged when they were young. However, it was the thought of being Queen that was surprising._

 _More importantly, the thought that being the Queen might help fix the mistakes that led to the War. Did that mean that the War happened because of the Royal Family? And what did they do to her cousin? The only male cousin Toriel knew about was Aunt Rowan's son, Prince Azariah Vanderbilt, the Red Mage of Determination._

 _Before she could think any more of the conversation she eavesdropped on, Toriel made it to her room and slipped inside. She quickly hopped into bed and closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep._

 _The last thing she thought about was what did the Royal Family do that led to the War?_

* * *

Toriel focused back on the present. She was staring off into space again, and judging by Frisk's worried expression, stopped talking. She cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Sorry, my child. I was just lost in my memories. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. I do not remember much of the War. I was young at that time. However, I know that the War began because humans feared that monsters would steal their souls. This fear was so great that the humans waged a war against monsters.

The War was hard and brutal. Many humans and monsters were dying. And many even thought that the War would last for ages. However, it all ended when seven human mages came together to defeat the monsters. They used their power to create a barrier to seal the monsters under the mountain.

Asgore, the person who took up Kingship in the Underground, found out with the help of his Royal Scientist that the only way to break out of the Barrier is with seven souls. Seven souls for the seven mages who cast the Barrier. Which leads to the situation we have currently. This is all I know of the War. I'm sorry if it wasn't much information, my child."

Frisk shook their head. "No, no that's fine. I'll just find out in the future."

Toriel smiled in relief. "Well, I suppose I should answer your last question. Hmmm. You say that the humans don't remember the War nor monsters? Well, when the War was going on, the Church would preach that monsters were demons in disguised. Because of that, perhaps when the monsters were sealed Underground, the Church destroyed any trace of monsters on the Surface. There might still be, however, a few things that were left over from monster kind. But most of it is probably destroyed by now."

Frisk nodded their head in understanding. "That makes sense. I mean, if the War began at the beginning of the Dark Ages it would explain the lower human population and the signs of war that historians have discovered. Not to mention, the lack of literature and the dominance of the Church. In fact, the Church even had the burning of the books! That could actually explain the lack of any information about monsters."

Toriel smiled at Frisk, proud of how intelligent they were. Their smile grew wider at hearing Frisk's stomach growl. Frisk blushed, embarrassed about such a normal thing.

"I believe that after such a long and emotional Q & A session, we should eat." Toriel got up and quickly grabbed Frisk's hand. She led them to the dining room and then let go of their hand. Toriel went into the kitchen and brought out some casserole she cooked earlier that day.

When she went into the dining room, Frisk was already seated down. Toriel flashed a smile at Frisk then handed them a plate of casserole while she kept the other piece for herself. She then sat down and started to eat. While eating, she watched as Frisk devour their casserole as though they were starving. She giggled quietly to herself. A warm feeling soon pulsed in her chest from the sight.

She wished moments like this would never end.

* * *

( * )

 _Asriel: Oh, and Frisk... Be careful in the outside world, OK? Despite what everyone thinks, it's not as nice as it is here. There are a lot of Floweys out there. And not everything can be resolved by just being nice. Don't kill, and don't be killed, alright? That's the best you can strive for._

( * )


	5. The Separation

( * )

" _There ain't no way you can hold onto something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it."_

― _Kate DiCamillo, Because of Winn-Dixie_

( * )

* * *

Toriel watched in amusement as Frisk patted down their stomach in satisfaction. "Ahhh~. That was delicious!" Frisk sighed in fulfillment.

Toriel giggled at Frisk. Sometimes the child was very amusing with how expressive they were.

Frisk smiled at her before a shy expression suddenly crossed their face. "Mom? I still have some questions for you. Would you mind answering them?" They seemed hesitant.

Toriel sent a warm smile at them. "Of course, my child. I would be happy to answer any questions you have. I, too, have some questions I wish to ask of you." She replied.

"Uh, ok. I wanted to ask you, um, what does HP stand for? And, uh, why is there a grave at the flower bed I fell on?" Frisk asked, their head tilted to the side.

Toriel felt her smile become strained at the second question, but she focused on the first question. She didn't want the child to be concerned again. She was the adult and she should be able to handle such an uncomfortable topic.

"Hmmm. HP? Well, you see, monsters are made of Love, Hope, and Compassion. The Holy Trinity, so to speak. They have LOVE, which is ' **L** evel **O** f **V** iolenc **E** '. It is also known as LV.

Then they have ' **H** o **P** e', which is also known as ' **H** ealth **P** oints'. It is shortened to HP. For monsters, ' **H** o **P** e' and ' **H** ealth **P** oints' are the same thing so if anything happens to their ' **H** o **P** e' then it will affect their ' **H** ealth **P** oints'. This is why monsters need ' **H** o **P** e', without it, monsters will dust then and there on the spot.

Then there is 'Co **MP** assion'. It stands for ' **M** agic **P** ower'. It is also known more commonly to monsters as Soul Expression and it is shortened to MP. MP depends on your emotions and will power. If anything happens to either of them then it will affect your MP. Because of that potential weakness, MP is never shown to anyone else except their owners. It is a private thing, so **[CHECK]** won't work on it. It is also only shown to people who have magic." Toriel gestured to herself as she spoke the last part.

"Monsters are made of Love, Hope, and Compassion? So, basically, they are made of ' **L** evel **O** f **V** iolenc **E** ', ' **H** ealth **P** oints', ' **M** agic **P** ower', right?" Frisk seemed a little confused.

Toriel blinked a little. "I suppose so, yes. I never heard someone put it that way before."

Frisk let out a little 'huh'.

"And for your second question." Toriel sighed, "The grave at the flower bed . . . it is the grave of one of the fallen children. They . . . they loved buttercups. I-I . . . monsters, when they die, they turn to dust. So, in the ancient monster tradition, I burned the child's body and spread their ashes on the flower bed. The first place I found them at. Its poetic, isn't it? That they ended where they began?"

Toriel felt tears threatening to fall down her face. She took a deep breath and forced them back.

"I-I sorry! I shouldn't have asked." Frisk seemed torn about asking the question.

Toriel softened and smiled. "It's okay child. No harm done. Now it is time for _my_ questions."

Frisk nodded and smiled at her.

* * *

"I hope that I am not offensive but I must ask, why are your eyes closed, my child? And why did you come to this mountain?" Mom asked. I hummed a bit, thinking. It was weird that she asked about my eyes. And why they were closed? They weren't closed but they probably seemed like it.

"My eyes aren't closed. They may seem closed but they aren't. My eyes are actually squinting really hard right now. It's really dark in the Underground. I'm squinting my eyes because I'm trying to adjust to the light difference in here but . . . do you want to see my eyes?" I asked.

Mom nodded her head. "Yes, I would very much like to see your eyes, my child." I smiled at Mom and slowly opened my eyes to their natural width. Mom gasped in surprise.

I didn't let that bother me though. I know my eyes were unique. At first glance, people would say they were blue, but if you looked closer you could see the green, gray, and brown intermingled with the blue. There would be flecks of hazel and red that would appear, but it was the specks of gold that made my eyes glow.

Grandpa once told me that looking into my eyes was like looking into the night sky. The eyes I had were rare, I think that the only reason I had them was because I was reincarnated. But I don't know for sure.

It didn't matter anyways. I didn't like them that much. It reminded me of how out of place that I was here. I would've rather inherited my grandfather's eyes. They were a beautiful shade of ruby red. Everyone from my grandfather's side of the family had red eyes. I was the only one in generations that didn't inherit the family's red eyes.

"Those eyes . . . are very beautiful!" Mom was in awe. I smiled at her and slowly relaxed my eyes to their previous position.

"Thank you." I blushed. She giggled at the bashful way I looked.

"Now, about why I'm in Mt. Ebott. I suppose I should start from the beginning. My grandfather grew up in the village at the base of Mt. Ebott. However, he was a free spirit. He wanted to travel. So he did. When my parents died, he took on the responsibility of taking care of me. But he was still a free spirit. So instead, he took me with him on his adventures around the world.

One day, he decided to visit his hometown with me as a bonding experience. But Grandpa became very sick. In the end, we stayed in the village so he could recover.

I-I . . . I wanted to explore the mountain because Grandpa told me about story about my ancestor and the monster. I thought that maybe I could find something to bring back to him, you know? To make him feel better. Grandpa . . . he keeps getting weaker and weaker every day. I-I just wanted to help him. Make him feel better."

I was starting to tear up, the emotions that I've been bottling up from seeing my grandfather getting worse each day was starting to come out.

Mom got up from her chair and walked up to me. She hugged me with a warmth that reminded me of Grandpa. I clenched her fur and buried my face into her bosom.

"I-I . . . need to go back! I-I need to see him! Grandpa!" I began to cry silently, my chest aching from the pain I felt.

After a few moments of sobbing, I calmed down as quickly as I teared. Mentally, I cursed the Gamer's Mind for forcefully muting my emotions. If I had to go through emotional changes as fast as finger snap I would surly develop bipolar disorder.

I heard Mom quietly mutter to herself. "Mom?" I yawned a little, the emotional strain made me want to nap.

"It's okay, my child. Why don't you go upstairs and have a nap? I need to do something." Mom had a strained smile painted on her face. She looked as if she was in pain.

I nod my head and watched as she left the dining room. Before I went upstairs, the Narrator popped in with a demand.

 **Follow Mom.**

I blinked at hearing the Narrator order me around but, before I could question them, my body did as the Narrator said and followed Mom. We left the dining room and went into a dark hallway that had torches on the side.

Walking ahead of me was Mom. She seemed to be headed in the direction of a large doorway. On the doorway was a strange symbol. The symbol had three triangles below a sphere that had wings.

 **The only exit to the Ruins. A window into the Underground. The place to begin your journey home. Unless . . . it gets destroyed.**

As the Narrator spoke, I blinked in surprise. What was Mom doing here? In her hands she summoned a large fireball. Before she could do anything I spoke up.

* * *

"Mom?"

The fireball that she summoned in her hand disappeared as soon as she heard Frisk's voice. Toriel turned around, "My child! What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to go to bed?"

Frisk nodded hesitantly. "Mom, what are you doing? A . . . Are you going to destroy the door? The doorway to the Underground?" Toriel tensed in surprise. But then forced herself to relax. She felt a sad chuckle leave her mouth. Frisk was such an intelligent child.

"Mom?" Frisk called out again.

Toriel sighed. "My child . . . this is for your own good. All those who left died. I-I can't let that happen to you! So, please, go back to bed and tomorrow we can be a happy family." She hoped that Frisk would do as she said and go to bed. Toriel didn't think she could handle losing another little one. However, she felt her hopes become crushed when Frisk shook their head and walked closer to the doorway.

Frisk looked at her with pleading eyes. "I-I'm sorry, Mom. But I can't. Grandpa . . . he needs me! I need to leave. I-I have to go!"

Toriel felt as if the world was falling out from under her. The words that she desperately never wanted to hear were spoken once again. But that wasn't the worst. No, the worst was the familiar tone that she heard in Frisk's voice. It was the same determined tone that Chara once used whenever they were too stubborn for their own good. Toriel knew that nothing she says or do will change Frisk's mind as long as they had that same determination.

Toriel clenched her hands and faced Frisk. "If you wish to leave . . . then prove to me. Prove to me that you will survive! That you will live! Prove to me that your DETERMINATION is strong! And know that you can never come back. That I can never let you come back."

She hardened her heart once more. And, perhaps, for the last time. For if Frisk succeeds or not in their quest to the Surface, Toriel would make sure that they would be last child to fall into the Underground ever again. Toriel pulled Frisk's soul into an engagement.

The first turn went to Frisk and there was no hesitation in their manner when they pressed **[MERCY: SPARE]**. Toriel felt her heart twist slightly. Frisk was such a peaceful child just like Asriel.

Toriel took a deep breath and pressed **[FIGHT: FIREBALL]** on her turn. She watched as Frisk tried to dodge her special fireballs. However, a few hits later, they went down to **[HP 15/20]**. With every hit to Frisk's soul, Toriel felt her MP lowering further and further.

However, Frisk kept pressing the **[MERCY: SPARE]** button. So Toriel kept pressing **[FIGHT: FIREBALL]**. The engagement continued on the same vein until Frisk dropped down to **[HP 2/20]**. By that point, Toriel started to purposely avoid Frisk's soul. Even if she was fighting Frisk to make them prove to her that they can survive, she could never live with herself if they died because of them. Frisk still kept pressing **[MERCY: SPARE]**.

Toriel decided that maybe she should try a different approach. Her MP now read as **[MP 700/7,000]**. Toriel pressed **[ACT: TALK]** hoping that her words could persuade Frisk to stay here.

"We can have a good life here. We can be happy. It's not much but we can make do. We . . . We can be a family." However, Frisk kept pressing **[MERCY: SPARE]**. Toriel felt a lump grow in her throat.

"But . . . but you wouldn't be happy, would you? You would keep wondering about your grandfather. Wondering if he's okay. You would never forgive yourself if you weren't there to help him. He's your only living relative. You . . . you couldn't bear seeing him die, can you? A-And that's why you would continue going on . . . because there is still something waiting for you, on the Surface." Toriel choked out.

Tears started to gather in her eyes. Frisk pressed **[MERCY: SPARE]** one more time. This time, however, Toriel accepted the **[MERCY: SPARE]**.

Once that happened, Toriel fell to her knees and cried. Frisk quickly ran up to Toriel and hugged her. "I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" They repeated on and on, trying to comfort her in her despair.

All Toriel could do was hold them closer. She wanted to engrave Frisk in her very memory. She wanted to hold on to them and never let them go. But she knew that, in the end, she would let them go. Because Toriel knew that if you loved someone, you had to let them be free.

And she loved Frisk dearly. Very much so. Even if she only spent a day with them, it felt like she had known them for a life time. And the love she had for them, while brief, was as intense as the love she had for all the fallen children that came before them and Asriel.

After her tears dried, Toriel stood up. She looked down at Frisk and kissed them on their head. "Know that, my child, I will always love you. And that I will always be your mother." Toriel softly whispered.

Frisk looked at her sadness in their features. "I love you, Mom."

Toriel heart twisted in pain. She took a deep breath and stepped away from Frisk. She stood to the side and watched as Frisk took one last glance at her before opening the door to the Underground and leaving. Toriel softly whispered to the closed doors.

"Be good, won't you?"

* * *

( * )

 _My expectations . . ._

 _My loneliness . . ._

 _My fear . . ._

 _For you, my child . . ._

 _I will put them aside._

 _-Toriel (Undertale)_

( * )


	6. The Beginning

( * )

" _May Light always surround you;_

 _Hope kindle and rebound you._

 _May your Hurts turn to Healing;_

 _Your Heart embrace Feeling._

 _May Wounds become Wisdom;_

 _Every Kindness a Prism._

 _May Laughter infect you;_

 _Your Passion resurrect you._

 _May Goodness inspire_

 _your Deepest Desires._

 _Through all that you Reach For,_

 _May your arms Never Tire."_

― _D. Simone_

( * )

* * *

The door closed behind me with a final click. I spent a few minutes mentally processing what happened. It was only when the chill of the cold wind brushed against me that I deigned to look up. The sight I was met with was _impossible_.

Snow! There was snow drifting down onto the ground, covering the land with a white winter blanket. When I looked up to see where the snow was coming from, all I saw was the rocky ceiling glowing with light. It was almost as if I wasn't in the Underground at all! It was like I was under the sky in a snowy little forest.

But I knew better. I was still trapped in the Underground. Monsters were around every corner, trying to kill me. I was all alone with nowhere to go. I sighed, my breath turning into a frosty mist in the air. Shivering, I clutched my sweater close to me, pretending that I wasn't in the Underground but on the Surface.

Great. I was only here one day and already I get homesick.

I looked up and wished, for a second, that the sun would be there. Shining on me, giving me warmth. Just . . . there. But it wasn't there, nothing was there. The Narrator spoke up, distracting me from my depressive thoughts.

 **There is a SAVE STAR next to you.**

I turned around, and there it was. A SAVE STAR. I quickly reached out to touch the SAVE STAR and another voice spoke. With the voice came a startling warmth.

 ***FILE SAVED. You BRAVELY go forward, knowing that many dangers shall fall upon you. However, you are filled with the courage to continue on.**

 **[HP RESTORED]**

I quietly watched as the star flashed a bright orange before fading back to its original glow. I then blinked at hearing the second message. That never happened before.

Quickly, I pulled up my stats with a wave of my hand and checked my HP. And there it was, **[HP 20/20]**. It was surprising that this happened. However, I quickly figured out that SAVE STARs not only act as points to go back to when I die but they also acted as HP restores just in case I was depleted.

I headed forward, satisfied for figuring out what the SAVE STAR was. Up ahead was a clearing where Flowey appeared to be waiting for me. I stopped a few feet away from the homicidal flower and wondered how he came here.

Flowey faced me with a creepy expression and spoke. "Bravo! Bravo! What an accomplishment! Going through the entire Ruins without killing anyone. Or even dying. Once. I'm surprised!" Flowey's smile widen even more.

"But you shouldn't feel too happy! After all, you only spared the life of a pathetic, worthless monster who couldn't even bear to kill you. What'll happen when you meet someone who will want to kill you? Huh? When sparing them isn't enough?" Flowey tilted his head to the side in a mockery of confusion.

I stared at him silently. I didn't know what to say. After all, what he said was true. Mom was nice to me because she cared about me, but there are monsters who don't care about me. And they already killed children. They wouldn't leave me even if I spared them.

Flowey laughed. "I see that you understand. I wonder . . . will you kill them. All the monsters down here? Kill them like how they will kill you? Show them no mercy just like they have to you? Or, perhaps, will you give up? Tired of always dying. In a loop of never ending torture. Will your DETERMINATION falter?"

I stared at the flower in surprise. The way he was talking . . . it was as if he knew we were in a videogame! If that was true . . . "Are you . . . do you . . . are you a Player?"

His smile took a cruel twist. "Yes! I _was_ a Player. I controlled this world! It was my playground. But then, _you_ came. And you took control away from me. But it doesn't matter. No, what matters is what you're going to do. When you're pushed to the brink. Tell me, what will you do?" Flowey was full of dark curiosity.

I bit my lip, hesitant to answer. I didn't know what I would do, but I do know one thing. "I . . . I-I won't give up. I will try to find a way, a way where I won't have to kill or be killed. A way to have a happy ending . . . because everyone deserves a happy ending. Everyone deserves a second chance. Everyone deserves mercy. Even you."

Unknown to me, my eyes were glowing a bright red. My DETERMINATION for a happy ending shined from my soul through my eyes. I didn't want to kill anyone. I didn't want to die. I just . . . wanted everyone to be happy. I remembered the sight of Mom crying on the floor. Staring at Flowey, I wondered, was he ever happy?

Flowey stared back at me in silence, then laughed. "HAHAHA . . . Y-You . . . HAHAHAHA . . . You're an idiot! Hahaha. Know that when your DETERMINATION falters . . . when you give up on this world . . . I'll be waiting. And I will gain control. I'm the prince of this world's future, after all. But don't worry, my little monarch. For now, I will watch you. Because this is way more interesting to me currently."

He then went underground, disappearing from my sight. I stood in the clearing, silent.

What Flowey told me, it disturbed me. I don't know what will happen in the future. In fact, I'm scared of the future, but I know that I will try my very best to carve my own path in the Underground. I won't kill. And I won't be killed. I'll defy this world if I have to. To get my happy ending.

 **The thought of having a happy ending fills you with DETERMINATION.**

I smile at hearing the Narrator. I know that even if I did die many times, that at least I would have them with me. I wouldn't be alone. And that was all I needed to keep moving forward.

I soon left the clearing behind, spotting a tree branch on the floor nearby. I would have passed it if it weren't for the Narrator.

 **Having a stick might come in handy.**

I followed their advice before continuing on the route to the Surface. Suddenly, I heard a twig snap. I froze and turned around quietly, wary about monsters sneaking up on me. When I saw that nothing was behind me, I sighed. But still, I didn't let my guard down. I needed to be cautious to ensure my survival.

I resumed walking forward. Ahead of me was a bridge that crossed over a chasm of cold water. I sighed in relief and quickly went to the bridge. It was then that I heard a voice behind me.

"Don't you know ho-"

Before the voice could finish speaking, my body automatically turned around and swung the stick in my hand at the voice. A scream was stuck in my throat, my eyes widen in terror. The stick hit the person behind me and a large 'CRACK' echoed in the silence.

The person who I hit, before I even got to take a good look at them, turned to dust. All that was left of them was a blue jacket that fell on the snow covered ground.

I stared, not comprehending what I did until my stats popped up again. Instead of the regular **[LV 0]** it turned into **[LV 1]**. I took a step a few feet backwards, my breath coming out straggled from the atrocity I have committed.

However, instead of my feet touching more snow covered ground, there was nothing under me. I was at the edge of the cliff the bridge was built on. So, instead of standing on stable ground, I slipped off the cliff and fell down into the chasm.

My body was free falling, it was like I was floating in the air. But then I hit the cold water in a harsh impact. I was shocked into stillness by the freezing temperature. I couldn't move at all. My body fell deeper and deeper into the water.

The Narrator tried to speak but the currents in the river made it difficult for me to hear them in my mind. Soon I became numb, black spots began to appear in my vision.

The last thing I could do was briefly touch the glowing **[LOAD]** that appeared in front of me at my last moments.

* * *

Sans blinked in surprise.

He was behind a tree far from the Ruins, waiting for a human to appear. For some reason, however, it felt like he already did this before. That feeling continued to persist when he saw the human child for the first time. It continued even when he purposely stepped on a twig to spook the kid. It continued even as he followed the kid to the bridge that would lead them to Snowdin and his brother.

Sans, seeing that the kid was going to cross the bridge, quickly teleported behind them and began to speak.

"Don't you know ho-"

However, before he could finish, a feeling of danger came upon him and he took a few steps back. Just in time too. The kid swung their stick to the position he was previously in, their face set in an expression of fear.

The swing caused the kid to become unbalanced and take a step backwards. Which was a mistake on their part. Their foot slipped back into the chasm that the bridge was built over, leading them to certain death.

Seeing that, Sans quickly grabbed the kid with his right hand and pulled them away. But it seemed that he pulled the kid a little too hard and, instead of the kid landing back on their feet safe and sound, they crashed into him. This caused the both of them to fall onto the ground.

For a few moments, everything was silent.

Sans soon felt movement on top of him. The kid pushed themselves up, rubbing their head. They probably hit their head on his _bone_ -dy.

Sans snickered at the pun he made in his head. Despite the fact that he almost got his skull bashed in, he could still throw out puns like no one's business. His snickering, however, caused him to gain the attention of the kid. They looked down at him with their eyes opened.

Sans took in a deep breath. He always thought human eyes were boring. The orange brat had brown eyes and the other humans were rumored to have plain ones. This kid, however . . . their eyes were beautiful.

There was a icy blue and leaf green mixed in with a stormy grey. Specks of royal gold and hazel jewels were in the whirlwind of color and sprinkled everywhere was red crystals. It was as if he was looking at one of the few paintings the monsters had of the night sky.

Sans wouldn't have minded staring into their eyes for a few more minutes, but then the kid closed their eyes quickly and pushed themselves off of him. They backed away, fearful of him.

Sans, seeing the kid going back to the direction of the chasm _again,_ sat up and quickly grabbed the kid's leg with his right hand.

He pulled the leg closer to him, causing the kid to fall on the ground _again,_ and away from the chasm. However, he underestimated their weight and became unbalanced from pulling them quickly towards him.

Sans slammed his left hand next to the kid's head, making sure that he wouldn't crush them with his weight since he weighed a _skele_ -ton. They clutched their stick closer to them in fright.

Sans was about to say something when, suddenly, a fart noise interrupted him. It was silent for a few moments, both Sans and the kid were in shock of hearing a fart noise during this situation.

Sans then realized that the sound came from the whoopee cushion that he taped to his left hand. He taped the whoopee cushion there as a small prank for the human, to get them to relax around him.

He felt sweat slowly drip from his head, his face turning a light blue from embarrassment. This was the first time that a simple prank went wrong for him, _ever_. The fact that it was a terrified human child witnessing this moment didn't help him much.

A small giggle snapped him out from his embarrassment. Sans looked down in surprise, seeing the kid laughing in absurdity of what happened. Soon, he was laughing as well. The entire situation was hilarious! Everything that happened was comedic.

Soon, Sans and the kid stopped laughing. It was quiet for a few more moments. Then they spoke up. "Um, can you get off me please?"

It was then Sans realized that they were still laying over the kid. He quickly got up and offered them his hand to stand up. They took his hand and was quickly pulled up, this time not crashing into him or falling.

Sans decided to say something to dispel the awkward air that came over them after a few moments.

"Hey, ki-"

"I'm sorr-"

Both Sans and the kid say at the same time. Suddenly they become quiet again, the awkward air growing even heavier.

Sans sighed and spoke up again. "Hey, kid. Sorry for scaring you an' all that." Sans waved his hand in the air. The kid nodded their head.

"It's okay. It . . . you have to admit, it was pretty funny." They giggled.

Sans snorted. "Yeah, it was really _humerus_. It seriously tickled my _funny bone_." The kid giggled again. Sans smiled at seeing them enjoy his puns.

"I guess I should introduced myself, huh? The name's Sans, Sans the Skeleton." Sans winked. The kid smiled warily, with an edge of warmth lining it.

"It's nice to meet you, Sans the Skeleton. The name's Frisk, Frisk the Human. It's _ice_ to meet you!"

* * *

( * )

 _I don't have direction when I start a song,_

 _It starts so simple then it takes off_

 _. . ._

 _If I'm left with just a toy piano_

 _I start to play around_

 _-SharaX, Toy Pianos (Vocal Cover)_ _【_ _Chance • Melt_ _】_

( * )


	7. The Budding Pacifist

( * )

" _Those who attempt to conquer hatred by hatred are like warriors who take weapons to overcome others who bear arms. This does not end hatred, but gives it room to grow. But, ancient wisdom has advocated a different timeless strategy to overcome hatred. This eternal wisdom is to meet hatred with non-hatred. The method of trying to conquer hatred through hatred never succeeds in overcoming hatred. But, the method of overcoming hatred through non-hatred is eternally effective. That is why that method is described as eternal wisdom. "_

― _Gautama Buddha_

( * )

* * *

I stared as the very creepy skeleton- Sans –chuckled at the pun I made. I thought back to the events that led to this awkward introduction.

For one brief moment, I felt myself die. Then, suddenly, I was standing right beside the SAVE STAR once more. It was . . . horrifying. To feel myself drown to death then come back to life a moment later. It finally solidified the fact that I was in a videogame. Not to mention all the other things I was able to confirm with the LOAD.

When Flowey didn't pop up for our schedule conversation, it gave evidence that he was, indeed, a Player. Probably even the first Player. Though whether he was a reincarnated person as I was has yet to be determined. But since he didn't say anything about _Undertale_ , then maybe he wasn't one.

Another thing that surprised me was Sans. When I swung my stick around on reflex, I expected to hit him again. Only, this time, I wouldn't put enough power into the swing to kill him. But he did something that I didn't expect him to do, he _dodged_. It was my assumption that only Players would remember LOADs. The fact that Sans dodged, however, made me wonder if he was a Player as well.

But the fact that he stuck to the script till the last possible second crossed that theory out. In the end, it made me curious about the skeleton.

Did he remember? Would others remember? Or, maybe, was it a case of Déjà vu? If so, how does a LOAD work? Does it rewind time? Or, perhaps, it created a new timeline? Or could it alter reality to make me come back from the dead?

Not to mention, could I control this ability given enough practice? After all, I was able to use my inventory to my will so it could be possible for me to do the same to the LOAD ability.

Sans voice disturbed me from my thoughts. "Ya' know, I'm supposed to be on the lookout for humans right now . . ." Sans lazily eyed me.

I warily took a few steps away from Sans onto the bridge. The bridge squeaked under my weight which made me to freeze. I really didn't want to experience drowning again.

". . . but . . . I don't really wanna. Too much of a hassle. Now my bro, Papyrus, he's something else." Sans continued on, seemingly not noticing my tension.

I stared at him, silently waiting for the punch line. Just because he didn't want to catch me didn't mean I could trust him. The Narrator reaffirmed my thoughts.

 **There seems to be a hidden shadow in his wide smile. What is he hiding?**

"Papyrus . . . now he's a human-hunting FANATIC. He'd probably be on you faster than a dog on a _bone_." Sans punned. I didn't laugh and, instead, stared at him sternly. What he said wasn't really funny considering that I might end up dead.

Sans sighed. "Look, kid. My bro's harmless. He might've seemed like the scariest thing down here below but he's just really a big ol' teddy bear. Just . . . here. Cross the bridge and hide. My bro's coming." Sans waved to the bridge.

Hearing that his brother was coming, I decided to follow his advice despite how sketchy he seemed.

I crossed the bridge quickly, trying to ignore the flash of fear that I felt over my death experience. Sans came right behind me and pointed to a lamp.

"Quick, hide behind this conveniently placed lamp." He leaned nonchalantly in front of a shed that read 'SENTRY'.

I quickly ducked behind the lamp that stood next to the shed and held my breath. Soon, I was able to make out the snow crunch of someone walking.

"SANS!" San's brother, Papyrus stalked into the clearing. His skeleton form towering over my own height. Despite what Sans said, Papyrus looked ready to rip out a person's heart.

"Yeah, bro?" Sans stuck a finger in the hole where a human ear would be located at.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO RECALIBRATE YOUR PUZZLES THIS MORNING!" Papyrus stomped at the ground. I clamped my hands over my ears to block out the sound. How a skeleton can yell so loud when they don't have lungs baffled me.

"Eh, I was just staring at this very human-shaped lamp right here." Sans pointed at the lamp. I froze up in shock. I shouldn't have trusted him. He was a monster, of course he was going to betray me. I shouldn't hav-

"BROTHER, I DO NOT APPERCIATE YOUR TEASING! I HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO. WHAT IF A HUMAN CAME? I NEED TO BE READY! WHEN I CAPTURE THE HUMAN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL FINALLY JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD. I WOULD BE POPULER! I WOULD GET ALL THE FRIENDS I COULD EVER WANT, ALL THE RECOGNITION I DESERVE, AND I WOULD BE LEGENDARY!" Papyrus struck a pose.

What . . . What the hell? Sans was literally telling you that I was hiding behind the lamp and you didn't understand?! What the fuck! No, seriously, what the actual fuck?!

I kept listening as Sans dropped off many more hints of how I was hiding behind the lamp while Papyrus still did not fully comprehend them.

"Hey, bro. Maybe this eerily human-shaped lamp can help you." Sans smiled wider.

Papyrus groaned in annoyance. "SANS! YOU LAZYBONES! YOU'RE NOT HELPING! I BET YOU WERE SLEEPING ON YOUR POST AGAIN AND NOT EVEN WATCHING OUT FOR ANY HUMANS."

"Heh. Sorry, bro. I'm just worked down to the _bone_." Sans winked at me when he said that.

Papyrus screamed. "THAT'S IT! I'M LEAVING! I CAN'T HANDLE YOU OR YOUR PUNS TODAY. I HAVE A JOB TO DO! NYEHEHEHEH!" He quickly left the clearing, as if the puns Sans made were contagious.

Once he was out of sight, I climbed out from behind the lamp. "What . . . what in the world . . . ?"

Sans chuckled. "Heheh. My bro . . . he was smiling. Don't let his screams fool you. He loves puns." I stare at him blankly, still not understanding what happened.

"Hey, kid, can ya do me a favor?" Sans put his hands in his pockets. I slowly nodded my head. His smile grew even wider.

"My bro . . . he's never seen a human before. Seeing you might make his day. Can ya' do that for me?"

"Yeah . . . I do owe you for hiding me after all." After that confirmation, Sans disappeared.

I soon left the area, thinking about what happened so far.

First, I died. Then I met a really sketchy skeleton. Then I met his brother. I sighed. Everything was so bizarre.

And now, even more questions popped up in my mind. How did Asgore obtain six souls when Sans said that Papyrus never saw a human before? What was Sans hiding? Can I really trust him?

I shouldn't trust him. But he was helpful, so I'll follow his advice for now. I'll be cautious though. After all, he was the guy who tried to sell me out to his brother. Whether it was a joke or not, I can't put my full trust in him. I'll need to watch out for him.

Not to mention, I should be more aware of myself and my surroundings. I really don't want to die and end up back at the SAVE STAR. That would be troublesome. Especially since I have the feeling that the next SAVE STAR is very far away.

I was lucky enough that I was able to survive the Ruins without dying and restarting my progress all over again. And I don't really want to fight anyone. Or, even worse, kill them.

I sighed. I didn't want to deal with any of this, but I'm **DETERMINED** to make my way to the Surface, peacefully. Even if it kills me.

* * *

Sans watched as the kid walked off dazedly in the direction of Doggo. He probably should have warned them, but he wanted a chance to observe 'em and see how they would be in battle.

Most of the other children tended to **[FIGHT]** then **[MERCY: SPARE]** monsters. Others would just use **[MERCY: FLEE]**. Then there were the few who would **[FIGHT]** till the end. Those ones were the most dangerous.

There were only two children that, to his knowledge, actually fought to kill or at least survive the battle. The orange brat was one of them while he heard from Mettaton that the yellow brat was another.

This kid, though. Sans wondered if they were going to be different. They were already different from the beginning with what the lady from behind the door asked of him.

* * *

 _It was snowing._

 _Then again, it was always snowing._

 _Sans leaned on a large purple doorway. He knocked on the door waiting for the customary response. And there, right on schedule, a voice asked. "Who's there?"_

 _Sans smiled. "_ Iva _."_

 _A moment of silence came from the other side of the door. "_ Iva _who?"_

 _Sans smile grew wider. "_ Iva _a sore hand from knocking!" The voice giggled, enjoying the joke._

 _"Sans . . ."_

 _Sans straighten up in surprise. The lady on the other side of the doorway never really used his name. This was the first time she actually said his name._

 _"Yeah?" Sans replied._

 _"Will you promise me something?" She asked._

 _Sans narrowed his eye lights in suspicion at the doorway. This was very unusual, something made his knock-knock buddy break her routine. Sans felt his curiosity stir._

 _"Sure thing."_

 _"If a human ever comes through this doorway . . . will you protect them?" She asked hesitantly._

 _Sans felt his spine stiffen in shock. Out of all the things she could have asked him . . ._

 _He was the Royal Judge. It was his duty to be the Judge, Jury, and Executioner for both monsters and the humans that fell down here._

 _For the past years, however, his job as the Royal Executioner was more prominent. Mostly because of the kill order on humans. Sans knew that the lady on the other side of the door didn't know that. Otherwise she wouldn't have asked but, still, it was surprising for her to ask that of him._

 _"That's . . . asking a lot. Don't ya' think?" Sans scratched his skull._

 _"I know but . . . this child . . . I don't think I could survive if this child ever died. Please, I'm asking you. As your friend . . . and as your Queen. Please, protect them."_

 _Sans's eye sockets widen. The lady behind the door . . . his knock-knock buddy . . . was the Queen?! Shit! He knew that the Queen disappeared right after the death of her two children, but to find out that she was hiding in the Ruins the whole time. God, if the King ever found about this, he was dead._

 _"Sans?" The lady sounded worried._

 _Sans took a deep breath and decided to act as he normally did. No point in acting any differently. He already embarrassed himself in front of her due to his jokes. He was at the bottom of the food chain in her eyes now. But right now he had to focus on the present, the Queen just gave him an order. He should probably find a way to balance her order with the King's._

 _"I'm not real good at promises lady. But . . . I guess I'll give it a go." That was the most he can do anyways._

 _"Thank you!" There was a smile in her voice._

 _Huh, Sans just realized that if she was the Queen then maybe-_

 _"So, does that mean you're the Tu-_ Toriel _for the kid?" Sans joked. The lady giggled._

 _"That joke was_ Sans _-ational." She replied. Sans chuckled._

 _This kid was lucky. To have the Queen of Monsters look after them. Queen Toriel was known for her fierce and protective nature, she would destroy cities if it meant that her loved ones were safe. The kid must be something real special, huh. They better be grateful 'cause there's someone out there who really cares for them._

* * *

Sans shook his head free of the memory. He should probably find the kid. After all, he did promise the lady that he would protect 'em. Sans teleported just in time to watch Frisk speak to Doggo.

"Aww! Who's a good dog? You're a good dog! Who wants to be pet, huh? You want to be pet, don't ya'?" Frisk then pressed **[ACT: PET]** on Doggo.

Doggo panted. "I'm a good dog! I want to be pet!"

Sans stared as Frisk continued to press **[ACT: PET]** on Doggo and speak to him like a mother to a baby. After a few more presses of **[ACT: PET]** s, Frisk pressed **[MERCY: SPARE]**.

This caused Doggo to faint, "I've been pet! Rrrr."

This . . . was not what he expected to see. Sans thought that maybe he would see a serious fight between the two or even the kid running away with Doggo chasing them. But, instead, he saw Doggo acting like an oversized puppy and the kid cuddling him.

It was . . . _weird_.

Sans decided to pretend that he never seen that bizarre moment. He teleported to an area close by to his brother and walked towards him. Maybe bothering Papyrus with his puns might make him forget what he saw.

* * *

( * )

 _I cannot fight._

 _I cannot think._

 _But, with patience, I will make my way through._

— _A sign in the CORE_

( * )


	8. The Spaghetti

( * )

" _Friendship ... is born at the moment when one man says to another "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . ."_

― _C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves_

( * )

* * *

Papyrus groaned in annoyance. Sans came looking for him some time ago and decided to _brother_ him with puns.

"PLEASE, SANS. STOP SPOUTING OUT YOUR INSUFFERABLE PUNS! WE HAVE A JOB TO DO. THERE IS NO TIME FOR JOKES NOW!" Sans chuckled.

"Aw, c'mon bro. I know you're smiling. Just relax and _chill_." Sans punned.

Papyrus stomped his foot on the ground. He knew he was smiling, but it was only because his brother was being active by his own power! Usually he was a lazybones, more content to just lay around and do nothing. It made Papyrus worry for Sans. Most monsters know that having no energy to do regular day activities was the first sign of _Falling Down_.

Papyrus sighed. Soon his attention was captured by some movement at the edge of his vision. He turned around to see a strange looking creature approach him. It didn't look like any of the monsters he had ever seen before.

The creature was small, really small. In fact, it reached Sans in height. It wore a giant sweater that had purple-and-blue stripes on it. It's brown fur only covered the top of it's head, leaving it's face and ears exposed. It didn't have a muzzle or a beak like most monsters did, but it had something on it's face that resembled a nose.

"SANS! WHAT IS THAT ODD LOOKING MONSTER COMING TOWARDS US? DO YOU KNOW WHO THEY ARE?" Papyrus turned to question Sans.

Sans faced the creature. "Nah. It's just a human, bro." Papyrus nodded.

"OH, I SEE. IT'S JUST A HUMAN . . . WAIT! IT'S A HUMAN!?" Papyrus's eyes popped out in shock. He quickly turned to face the human. They waved timidly at him.

"WOWIE! IT'S A HUMAN. UMMM. UHHH. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL CAPTURE YOU HUMAN! I WILL THEN TAKE YOU TO THE CAPITAL AND BECOME PART OF THE ROYAL GUARD! AND . . . AND, I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT. BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER! FIRST, I MUST PREPARE MY PUZZLES! FOR SURELY, A HUMAN OF YOUR CALIBRE MUST BE AN EXPERT PUZZLE SOLVER. NYEHEHEHEHE!" He quickly ran away from the human and his brother, knowing that they would surely follow after him. After all, he was the Great Papyrus.

He needed to quickly set up the first puzzle for the human. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to capture them. That would be horrible. If he couldn't capture the human then he can't become popular! And that would surely be a crime!

He soon came upon one of his more challenging puzzles. Right on the other side of the puzzle was Sans. "SANS! HOW DID YOU GET HERE SO QUICKLY?" Papyrus was confused. He could have sworn that his lazybones brother was behind him.

Papyrus jumped across the entire puzzle and landed right next to Sans.

"Eh, bro. I just took a shortcut." Sans slouched.

"But shouldn't you worry more about the human?"

The human? Papyrus turned around and there, behold, was the human waiting.

"HUMAN! THERE YOU ARE! BE PREPARED TO GET THE _SHOCK_ OF YOUR LIFE. FOR YOU SEE, I HAVE PREPARED AN _ELECTRIFIYING_ PUZZLE FOR YOU TO FACE. NYEHEHEHEHE!" Papyrus laughed.

"Hey, bro, was that a pun I just heard?" Sans excitedly perked up.

"NO, OF COURSE NOT! I WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A VILE THING!" Papyrus crossed his arms, his face turned towards the sky so Sans couldn't read the expression on his face. The human cleared their throat.

"Um, where's the puzzle?" They rubbed the back of their neck in _puzzlement_.

"OH, UM, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE ELECTRIC MAZE! YOU MUST CROSS THROUGH THE MAZE WITHOUT GETTING SHOCKED. IF YOU DO GET SHOCKED, YOU WILL THEN BE CAPTURED BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" Papyrus pointed at himself, imaging the wind blowing his scarf around just like a cape. The human just stared at the maze in confusion.

They took one small step towards the maze. Nothing happened. The human took another step forward. Nothing happened. Soon enough, they gained the confidence to just cross all the way to his side.

"WHA . . . WHY AREN'T YOU GETTING ELECTRIFIED?" Papyrus furrowed his forehead in surprise. The human just shrugged their shoulder.

"Maybe the power wasn't working?" They looked up at him as they offered the suggestion.

"HMM . . . NO MATTER. COME, HUMAN. THIS NEXT PUZZLE WILL CLEARLY LEAVE YOU BAFFLED! SANS MADE IT!" Papyrus quickly scooped up the human, causing them to squeak, and brought them to the next puzzle.

Sans followed behind them into the next clearing. There, on the ground, was a paper. Papyrus put the human down and examined the paper.

"SANS! WHERE IS THE PUZZLE?" Papyrus questioned.

"That paper is the puzzle, bro. _Puzzling,_ isn't it?" Sans replied.

Papyrus yelled, "SANS!" while the human giggled at the pun.

The human then grabbed the paper and read it out loud. "Who's the _cool_ est skeleton in town?"

Papyrus snorted. "THAT QUESTION IS EASY! IT'S THE GREAT PAPYRUS, OF COURSE!"

The human tilted their head. "That must mean that you're really _frozen down to the bone_ , eh?"

Papyrus put his hands on his head in disbelief. "NO, SANS. HOW DARE YOU INFECT THE HUMAN WITH YOUR PUNS!" Sans shrugged.

"Eh, I'm just too _punny_." Sans had a wide smile on his face.

Papyrus groaned in frustration. While Papyrus was busy with Sans, he didn't notice as the human left his side to go on ahead.

* * *

I walked out of the clearing, leaving behind the skeleton brothers to sort out their issues. They were an interesting pair. Papyrus especially. He was very innocent and naïve. Not to mention, how entertaining it was to see his reactions to puns.

 **There is spaghetti on the table.**

Spaghetti?! I was so hungry that I could eat a horse.

I quickly rush ahead to the table in front of me. And, there, as if it was a gift from the heavens, was a plate of spaghetti. I spotted a fork right next to the plate of spaghetti and picked it up. However, when the fork hit the spaghetti, a 'CLANK' noise occurred.

 **It seems as if the spaghetti is frozen solid.**

I just stared at the spaghetti in silence.

Why?

Why?!

WHY?!

I was starving in this frozen wasteland! I had to deal with teen comedians, attention-grabbing children, doggies (I was actually quite happy with that), creepy skeletons, and Jerry! But I couldn't get a break to eat spaghetti!?

"HUMAN! WHERE ARE YO- OH! THERE YOU ARE! ER- WHY ARE YOU CRYING HUMAN?" Papyrus seemed concerned.

I put my hand on my face and was surprised to feel tears running down it. I really should have expected that, however. I was going to have a psychotic breakdown sometime soon. With all those fights, and my traumatic death, I really should have been prepared for this reaction.

"I-I . . . the spaghetti. I can't eat that spaghetti! It's frozen solid!" I cried out, my hunger and frustration pouring out in literal waves of tears.

"OH. OH, HUMAN, I NEVER KNEW YOU WERE A SPAGHETTI LOVER AS WELL! WOWIE! THIS . . . THIS CHANGES A LOT!" Papyrus muttered the last part loudly to himself.

I continued to cry over the travesty that the spaghetti was, not paying any attention to Papyrus. It was only when I felt someone picking me up that I decided to pay attention once more.

"W-What are you doing?!" I squeaked out.

"WELL, HUMAN, SINCE YOU WISH TO EAT MY SPAGHETTI VERY MUCH. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE DECIDED TO TAKE YOU TO MY HOUSE TO EAT SOME!" Papyrus grinned confidently.

"R-really?" I was hesitant, this seemed too good to be true.

"OF COURSE! AFTER ALL, IT ISN'T EVERYDAY THAT I MEET A SPAGHETTI LOVER! BESIDES YOU MUST BE FULLY REPLENISHED IF I AM TO CAPTURE YOU!" Papyrus laid a hand over his chest, trying to convey his sincerity to me through the action.

"Thank you!" The mere thought of eating _anything_ at all made me ignore the last part of his sentence.

Papyrus nodded his head. "YOU'RE WELCOME, HUMAN! NOW TO MY HOUSE!"

He then bent his legs and pushed off from the ground. Soon, the both of us were at impossible heights.

I screamed in surprise, flailing my hands around. In the air, we were able to see a tiny little snow town coming closer to us. A board next to the entrance of the little town read 'WELCOME TO SNOWDIN'.

 **Papyrus's Magic Jump has been initiated.**

I still kept screaming as Papyrus defied the laws of physics and literally flew us both to his house. A simple little jump should not have been able to do this! The fact that this is happening is fucking terrifying. Magic is such bullshit!

We started to slow down. In the distance was a small house with two mailboxes next to it. Papyrus and I landed right outside the door of the house with a bang.

"HERE WE ARE HUMAN! HOME SWEET HOME!" Papyrus put me down on the floor. I just laid there, my mind entirely blank. I didn't want to move from the floor ever again. It was . . . too much.

"HUMAN?" Papyrus looked down at me in concern. I groaned in reply.

"HMM . . . THE TRIP HERE MUST HAVE TAKEN THE LAST OF YOUR STRENGTH. DON'T WORRY NOW, HUMAN. SPAGHETTI SHALL COME SOON!" Papyrus then picked me up and opened the door of his house.

I would have tried to have a look around, but I felt too drained from flying to even open my eyes. Soon, I felt myself being put down on a soft surface. I snuggled into the furniture and sighed in relief at the warmth of the house.

"STAY THERE HUMAN! I WILL COOK SPAGHETTI FOR YOU." I heard footsteps walk away from my position.

"Heh, kid. You okay?" A familiar voice asked.

I cracked my eyes open and saw the familiar visage of Sans. How the hell did he get here before Papyrus and I?

Ugh. It didn't matter. I closed my eyes and just groaned at him.

Sans chuckled. "Time sure _flies_ by, huh?" Sans punned.

I groaned even harder.

* * *

Sans watched as the kid tried to fuse themselves to the sofa.

At first, it was surprising to see Papyrus scoop Frisk up and jump all the way home, but the parts of the conversation that he overheard soon gave context for that.

Who knew the kid was a pasta frantic? Not a lot of people liked spaghetti in Snowdin. It was hard for Papyrus to speak with anyone about his obsession. The fact that the human also seemed to love pasta proved to be their lucky break.

Papyrus always had a soft spot for those who liked spaghetti. And to see Frisk cry over his spaghetti must have really touched Papyrus's soul.

Sans watched the kid groan again. He snickered. It was always funny to see how others would react to Papyrus's Magic Jump. Unlike him, Papyrus always did enjoy the physical aspect of magic.

Then again, Sans had to concede, if he had more HP then it would have been possible for him to have enjoyed physical magic. Unfortunately, he didn't have more HP. So, for now, he's stuck with pure magic power.

"HUMAN! HERE, MY HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI! FRESHLY COOKED AND WARM." Papyrus came out of the kitchen, a steaming pile of spaghetti in his hands.

Sans watched as the previously prone form of the kid quickly straightened up with mania energy.

"Food!" Frisk made grabby motions towards the plate, hunger evident in their face.

Papyrus nodded and passed the plate of spaghetti to them. "YES, HUMAN! IT IS BEAUTIFUL. PLEASE ENJOY!"

Frisk quickly grabbed the fork that was in the spaghetti and pushed it into their mouth. Their previous blissful expression suddenly contorted into an expression of disgust. Their face started to changed colors, from red to green to purple.

Sans shuddered in empathy at seeing the kid change colors. It was always a shock to people when they ate his brother's pasta. Sure, it looked appetizing, but it tasted deadly. Not that he would ever say that to his bro. After all, Papyrus was the coolest brother in the world.

Frisk then slowly pulled the fork from their mouth and swallowed the bite of spaghetti down their throat.

"P-papyrus . . . ?" Frisk called out hesitantly.

"YES, HUMAN?" Papyrus leaned towards the kid, eagerly awaiting their verdict.

"W-what's in the pasta . . . ?" Frisk eyed the pasta, worried about the contents in the meal.

"OH! MY PASTA HAS SUGAR (TO MAKE IT SWEET), THE ENTIRE PASTA BOX (STORE BRAND IS _SO_ CHEAP), TOMATOES (FROZEN SOLID; IT MAKES THE SAUCE TASTE FRESH), CHILI PEPPERS (TO GIVE IT A SAVOURY FLAVOR), LEMON (TO MAKE IT REFRESHING), AND COUGH MEDICINE (TO GIVE IT A KICK; IT'S GRAPE FLAVOR TOO!)." Papyrus explained, a proud expression in their face.

With each listed ingredient, Frisk's face started to pale dramatically. "Hahaha. That sounds so . . . appetizing. I, um, I'm afraid I can't eat the pasta anymore."

"WHAT! WHY?" Papyrus cried out in despair.

Sans glared at the kid. They better tread carefully now. Frisk started to sweat heavily.

"Why . . . it's just that, um, cough medicine is . . . monster cough medicine is very deadly for humans!" They blurted out.

Sans snorted, knowing that the kid was definitely lying through their teeth. However, it seemed that Papyrus believed them. Papyrus gasped.

"Yes, it's very deadly to humans! So I can't eat anymore. Because if I do, I might die. I'm really sorry I couldn't finish this meal. It was a real . . . _killer_." Frisk punned.

Sans chuckled at the little pun the kid snuck in while Papyrus replied, ignoring the pun.

"OH! I'M TERRIBLY SORRY HUMAN!" Frisk smiled weakly.

"No, it's okay. I mean you didn't know. I just can't eat anymore which is a shame. I bet it makes all the monster girls go crazy for you, huh?" The kid winked.

"NYEHEHEH! OF COURSE THEY DO. AFTER ALL, I'M THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" Papyrus laughed.

"Hahaha. Um, I need to leave right now. And find a place to sleep. It's real late outside. Maybe, tomorrow, we can resume this . . . capture?" Frisk rubbed the back of their neck.

Sans narrowed his eye sockets at the kid a little. What are you doing, kid? Papyrus nodded his head in understanding.

"YES, OF COURSE. I SHALL ESCORT YOU, HUMAN, TO THE NEAREST INN." Papyrus then led the kid to the doorway.

Papyrus opened the door and walked outside. Before Frisk went through the door, they turned around and waved bye to Sans.

Sans blinked, bemused at the kid waving at him, before he decided to wave back. Frisk smiled then went out the door and left. Soon, it was only him in the house.

Sans used this moment to summon a jar of ketchup. Once it was in his hand, he started to chug it down. Sans knew that once Papyrus came home to find the ketchup missing from the kitchen, he wouldn't be able to have a quiet night. Even though he'll regret drinking the ketchup in the morning, he really needed it now.

That kid . . . they really are something. Let's see how long they'll last.

Sans hopes that Frisk knows that if anything happens to his brother . . . well, they'll have a _bad time_. At least tomorrow will be somewhat interesting.

* * *

( * )

 _"DON'T BE UPSETTI, HAVE SOME SPAGHETTI."_

 _\- Papyrus_

( * )


	9. The Shocking Discovery

( * )

" _It was the first time she'd discovered something she really didn't want to find, and she didn't know what to do once she'd found it."_

― _Jodi Picoult, Vanishing Acts_

( * )

* * *

"Thanks for walking me to the inn, Papyrus." I was grateful, being escorted by Papyrus made it so that other monsters wouldn't attack me.

Papyrus laughed. "NYEHEHEHEH! NO PROBLEM, HUMAN. REMEMBER TO MEET ME TOMMOROW FOR OUR FINAL CONFRONTATION." He then left, heading home.

I looked around to see if anyone was looking in my direction. Once I made sure that no one was looking at me, I called up my inventory and my stats.

My inventory still had the toy knife and the cinnamon-butterscotch pie from the Ruins. It also had more of the monster money I gained from sparing monsters.

I checked my stats next. My stats read as **[HP 20/20],** which was surprising. It seemed as if Papyrus's spaghetti, despite being an insult to Italian cuisine, was enough to restore my HP.

That was good. Not only did I not have to waste money finding food to restore my HP, but I didn't have to eat dinner. The spaghetti was quite enough for me.

However, that brings me to the next problem. I still needed to find food for tomorrow. I sighed.

I checked my gold reserves and was relieved to have **[150 GOLD]**. I could probably buy some items from the shop next to the inn and stack up on food.

I waved my inventory and stats away and then entered the shop. A bunny in a dress greeted me.

"Hello, traveler! How can I help you?"

Before I could say anything, another screen popped up in front of me. However, instead of the board used for engagements, this board had items with their prices on them. There was **[25G – Tough Glove]** , **[25G – Manly Bandanna]** , and **[15G Cinnamon Bun]**.

I blinked in surprise at the some of the items up for sale.

 **The Tough Glove and Manly Bandanna are both human items.**

My eyes widen at what the Narrator told me. If that is so . . .

"Excuse me, miss. I'm new here, and I was just wondering where you obtained the glove and bandanna in your possession." I smiled at the bunny.

"Oh! Yes, well, I got those shortly after the fifth soul for the barrier was obtained. One of the new town residents, Sans, gave it to me. I don't know where he got it from. But I wouldn't worry about that. He's always been a mysterious one. Especially since he moved here from New Home three generations ago." The bunny didn't seem to realize how suspicious her words were.

I felt myself slowly pale. I just had to ask the bunny one more question. I needed to know if . . .

"U-um, who obtained the fifth soul?" I clenched my sweater, my nerves were strung up.

"Hmm. I don't know who exactly obtained it, but the King said that it was through the work of one of his guardsmen situated close to the area where the human came through. The human never made it to Snowdin, so it was probably the work of one of the sentries close by." I felt myself sweat heavily.

All the little clues were slowly being pieced together. The only sentry that was close by the door to the Ruins was Sans's sentry. And the only way to get these items, these human items, were to forcefully take them from the human in question.

After all, these items seemed like they would be useful in a fight. No one would be stupid enough to just leave them lying around anywhere. Especially a human in the Underground.

And since these items came after the fifth soul was obtained then that meant . . . that the fifth human child was killed. Killed by the first person who greeted them from the Ruins. Someone who would have had to spot them first. Someone who brought the human child's items to a shop since they would be personally useless for them.

Sans . . . Sans killed the fifth human child.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 **Do you wish to purchase Tough Glove, Manly Bandanna, and 3 Cinnamon Buns? [Yes/No]**

 _Yes._

 **You have purchased Tough Glove, Manly Bandanna, and 3 Cinnamon Buns.**

I watched in apathy as my inventory popped up with all the items slotted in already. I also watched as my gold reserves were automatically reduced to **[45 GOLD]**. My inventory and stats then closed themselves, leaving no trace of being there in the first place.

"Thank you for purchasing from my wares!" The bunny waved at me.

I exited out from the shop and entered inn. I then asked for a room at the front desk.

"Oh! That would be 25G."

I transferred the money by pressing the notification that popped up. I was glad about the shopping trip earlier, it allowed me to know the currency exchange in the Underground. Something that I would need to know especially if it was going to be traveling through it for the coming days ahead.

The bunny handed me a room key. "Thanks for choosing our inn! Please enjoy."

My room key said 221B, so I walked down the hallway until I found a doorway with the matching inscription in it. I unlocked the door and entered the room.

In the room was a bed next to the window with a nightstand and lamp beside it. The room was nothing much, it was modest and simple.

I locked the door behind me and headed straight for the bed. I flopped on the bed and smothered my face in a nearby pillow. Then I took a deep breath . . .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

. . . and exhaled. I took another deep breath and stared at the wall across from me.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I sighed. I didn't know what to do for the situation at hand. I was completely blindsided by the latest development. All I really wanted to do was curl up and sleep. But I knew that if I didn't mentally go over everything that happened so far, I wouldn't be able to sleep properly.

First, I'm in a video game. My very existence is superficial at best and meaningless at worst. Trying to delve anymore into _that_ would just result into an existential crisis.

Second, I get attached to one of the inhabitants in the Underground. So much so that I placed them as a mother-figure in my life and then proceed to fight them in order to return to my only living relative who might have contracted a terminal illness. The less said about this, the better.

I then realized that I left Mom without any supplies except a cinnamon-butterscotch pie and new clothes . . . I'm kind of an idiot. What kind of person journeys across the Underground, where monsters will try to kill you, without supplies? Thank the stars that most of the inhabitants don't realize I'm a human.

Third, I have a dead person in my head. Shit . . . I forgot to ask Mom about their name. Hmm. Whatever, I'll find out their name another way. For know, the name Narrator works well enough.

Fourth, I died. Yeah . . . I'm just going to leave that alone.

Fifth, I met Papyrus. He's a real sweetheart. I hope that the fight tomorrow isn't too bad. I could probably sneak out and leave before he can find me, but that seemed a little too mean. So I'm probably going to fight him tomorrow. I might be captured but, eh, I'll improvise.

Sixth, it seems that most of the inhabitants in the Underground probably don't know how the monsters are obtaining the souls of humans. Papyrus was fairly oblivious about what the King would do to me after I'm captured, not to mention how the store bunny talked about gaining the fifth soul. They probably don't even know that their guardsmen are killing children in order to provide for their freedom. Or, maybe, they know and just don't care. Given how the King placed a kill order for humans, it could be that the hatred and resentment of monsters towards humans overpower their moral convictions.

. . . Yeah, I'm not going to think that far ahead. Dark thoughts an' all.

Still, that meant that most of the monsters that fought me don't really mean to kill me. What did Mom say again? They must be doing Soul Expression. Yeah . . . Monsters are pretty weird. That means that the sentries are the only ones I need to watch out for.

Seventh, the SAVE STAR seems to only show up after I clear out one region, so that meant I should be very careful. If I died, I would have to restart my progress all over again, which would be a pain. So mastering the LOAD ability should be top priority. At least, I'm a quick learner.

Eight . . . Sans killed the fifth human child. I knew there was a reason to be wary of him! It seems as if I was proven right. Still, even after figuring that out, I don't feel frightened. In fact, I just feel that same as before; wary and guarded. It seems as if Gamer's Mind might be dampening my emotions. Hmm. If Sans killed the fifth human child, then why didn't he kill me?

I sighed. It seems as if there are millions of secrets in the Underground everywhere I look. Not to mention, all of the secrets that surrounded me.

I turned around in the bed, trying to in a get comfortable position for sleep. For now, I'll just carry on like I normally do. Maybe I can find out the answers to my questions the deeper I go through the Underground.

I could even call Mom tomorrow. She could probably help me with these questions, but it might be useless. After all, Mom has been shut in the Ruins for who knew long!

Still, tomorrow is sure going to be _something_. I felt my eyes slowly close on their own.

 **You feel DETERMINED for tomorrow to come.**

* * *

Papyrus stood facing the town, his scarf blowing majestically in the wind. He stared, waiting for the human to arrive. It was only yesterday when he met the elusive human. And yet, they exceeded all of his expectations! Not only was the human good at overcoming the obstacles in their way, but it seemed as if they, too, were a spaghetti lover. Too bad that they couldn't eat his spaghetti. Still, they were able to tell that his spaghetti was amazing, which itself proved that the human was brilliant. After all, not many monsters could recognize brilliance.

The crunch of footsteps alerted Papyrus that someone was heading his way. Papyrus focused his attention back to the matter at hand just in time to see the human arrive. The human looked nervously around the battle field before spotting him. Once the human spotted him, they smiled widely.

"Hey, Papyrus!" They greeted. Papyrus decided to grace the human with his great presence.

"HELLO HUMAN! I SEE THAT YOU HAVE CAME FOR OUR FINAL CONFRONTATION. NYEHEHEHEHE! KNOW THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL FINALLY CAPTURE YOU!" Papyrus announced.

"I'm sure you will." They were still smiling.

Papyrus was a little taken aback by what the human said. He stared at the human intently, trying to see of they was mocking him. But after seeing the sincerity in their face, he continued on.

"U-UM, WOWIE! EVEN THE HUMAN KNOWS THAT THEY SHALL BE DEFEATED BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS! PREPARE FOR TROUBLE, ON THE DOUBLE!" Papyrus said with renewed confidence. After all, it wasn't every day that someone believed that he could capture a human. The fact that the human believed that and wasn't being indulgent like his brother made him feel happy.

Papyrus pulled the human in an engagement. The first turn went to the human. It was then the human shocked Papyrus with their next move. Instead of pressing **[FIGHT]** , like what all monsters thought humans might do, the human pressed **[MERCY: SPARE]**. It was his turn now, Papyrus confusedly pressed **[ACT: TALK]**.

"H-HUMAN! WE ARE IN BATTLE! DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT WHEN YOU ARE IN A BATTLE, THAT YOU MUST FIGHT!?" Papyrus questioned.

The human pressed **[ACT: TALK]**. "I know how to battle. I just prefer not to hurt anyone."

A-amazing!

Papyrus always thought that humans were malicious beings just like his school taught all little monsters. It was only when the human cried over his spaghetti that Papyrus started having doubts. But this . . . this shows that the human was not bad! Not bad at all. Still, Papyrus must capture the human. After all, his dream of being a member of the Royal Guard is at stake!

"FINE HUMAN! THEN PREPARE FOR MY BLUE ATTACK!" Papyrus warned.

Papyrus then pressed **[FIGHT: BLUE ATTACK]** . It was then he saw a glimpse of the human's soul. It was a beautiful bright red, and glowed with an inner warmth. Papyrus almost regretted his actions but he kept firm. His attack caused the human to fall to the ground with an unseen weight. Magic bones manifested in the air and headed straight for the prone form of the human.

However, right when they were about to make contact the human rolled over, missing most of the bones. Still, a few hit them, causing gashes to appear on the human's flesh. Blood dripped from the wounds and landed on the snow, tainting it to a dirty red. The human stats lowered to **[HP 25/20]** from its previous **[HP 30/20]**.

Still, the human persistently pressed **[MERCY: SPARE]**. Papyrus, in response, pressed **[FIGHT: BLUE BONES]**. The **[BLUE ATTACK]** was still in effect, causing the human to stay still. But, instead of regular bones manifesting in the air, glowing blue bones manifested and headed straight for the human.

"NYEHEHEHE! LET US SEE IF YOU CAN FIGURE OUT THIS PUZZLE."

However, the human didn't move and just let the manifested bones faze through them harmlessly. Hmm. It seemed as if the human figured out how his **[BLUE BONES]** attack worked. They really are brilliant!

Papyrus then decided to baffle the human by bypassing the board's limits and attack again. Normal boards had the one-turn rule for each opponent. However, Papyrus was able to find a way to bypass that rule and attack twice in a row on his turn. (In preparation for Royal Guard enrollment, of course. Nyeh heh heh!)

Papyrus pressed **[FIGHT: BAD BONES]**. This attack, instead of manifesting in the air, manifests under the opposing person and punches them in the air. The person then falls down from the air and lands on the bones themselves, causing more damage in the end.

The human's eyes widen as Papyrus's **[BAD BONES]** attack punched them from the ground up. They tried to land away from the bones, but was only able to land their upper body on the snow. Their legs landed on the bones, twisting their ankle and causing their wounds to become worse. The human screamed in pain.

Papyrus felt himself wince at the obvious pain that the human was in. He didn't think that his attack would do enough damage for the human to be lowered to **[HP 7/20]**. He always practiced on dummies and they only took **[-10 DG]**.

He watched as the human bleed out in the snow, making the once white landscape turn into a disgusting red. Papyrus felt uneasy seeing the pain the human was in. However, the human once again pressed **[MERCY: SPARE]**.

It was once again Papyrus's turn. He decided to press **[FIGHT: BLUE ATTACK]**. The other attacks were either too dangerous for the human or useless since the human already figured out how to counteract them.

Papyrus watched as the human once again tried to dodge his regular manifested bones. Their HP soon reached the critical zone of **[HP 2/20]**. Papyrus decided to once again bend the one-turn rule of the boards and go again. However, instead of attacking, Papyrus pressed **[ACT: TALK]**.

"HUMAN! WHY DO YOU NOT ATTACK ME? YOU ARE SERIOUSLY INJURED! DO NOT WISH TO END THIS BATTLE?" Papyrus questioned.

The human pressed **[ACT: TALK]**. "I-I can't a-attack you. I-I don't w-want to h-hurt people. B-but I a-also cannot a-abandon this b-battle. If I-I do s-so, then I-I will g-get captured. I-I'm too **D-DETERMINED** to s-stop. That i-is why I-I will c-continue this b-battle. Until a-a peaceful r-resolution has c-come at h-hand!"

They coughed up blood, splattering the snow with the color of red. It seemed as if the **[BAD BONES]** attack caused some internal damage.

Papyrus's eye sockets widen. The fact that the human was **DETERMINED** to continue the battle until a peaceful resolution came about was . . . amazing! They were even enduring painful looking injuries just for that.

Not to mention how seriously they were taking the battle. _No one_ , and Papyrus means no one, has ever bothered to take his battles seriously. Not even Undyne or even Sans has taken his battles seriously! But this human . . . they did. They took his puzzles seriously. They even ate his spaghetti. Something that not a lot of monsters did. They even came to fight him. Most people wouldn't have even come . . . but they did.

Papyrus knew what he had to do. It didn't matter that what he was doing was technically treason against the kingdom. This human . . . this person who liked spaghetti, solved his puzzles, and even tried to be nice to him despite them being on opposite sides deserves, more than anyone, his **[MERCY]**. So, instead of pressing attack like the human expected him to do, Papyrus instead pressed **[MERCY: SPARE]** . . . because that's what friends do, right?

* * *

( * )

" _WHO KNEW THAT ALL I NEEDED TO MAKE PALS . . . WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE AWFUL PUZZLES AND THEN FIGHT THEM?"_

 _\- Papyrus_

( * )


	10. The Puzzling Process Of Friendship

( * )

" _Maybe friendship can't begin until someone chooses you. But... that doesn't mean you don't get to make a choice too. You can't do that...unless you know who they are. And they can't choose you...until they know who you are."_

― _Miyoshi Toumori, A Devil and Her Love Song, Vol. 1_

( * )

* * *

 **Papyrus wishes to [MERCY: SPARE] you. Accept? [Yes/No]**

 _Yes._

As soon as I accepted Papyrus's mercy, my board and my soul disappeared leaving me with only my broken, bleeding body as my companion. Even after equipping **[Tough Glove]** & **[Manly Bandanna]** and eating **[1 Cinnamon Bun]** as my breakfast, I still had problems fighting Papyrus.

I probably should have kept **[Faded Ribbon]** on me but it didn't have as much protection as **[Manly Bandanna]** did. Though I was glad I had **[HP 30/20]**. If I had my standard **[HP 20/20]** I would have died for sure. It was also a good thing I figured out what the blue bones were for. Thank you, Doggo.

"HUMAN! ARE YOU OKAY?" Papyrus looked at me in concern.

"I-I'm okay! I-I just n-need to e-eat something."

I quickly pulled out my inventory and pressed on **[2 Cinnamon Buns]**. Once the cinnamon buns popped out from the inventory, I stuffed them in my face like I was dying. Which I might have been considering my critical levels of HP.

While I was eating them I felt the monster food healing and reenergizing my body. All of the previous gashes I gained from Papyrus's surprising two turn attacks were soon gone. It was a miracle that monster food healed injuries. I'm so glad for that. Too bad I had to find out the hard way.

Papyrus helped me stand up. "Thanks Papyrus."

"I-IT IS ALRIGHT! AFTER ALL, THAT IS WHAT FRIENDS DO!"

I blinked, a little bit a taken back with that declaration. "F-friends?"

Papyrus twisted his hands nervously. "O-OF COURSE! WE ARE FRIENDS! AREN'T WE?"

I stared at him and thought back to what might have made him think that we were friends. Thinking back on everything, the fact that I played puzzles with him, went to his house, ate his food, and talked with him during the walk to the inn . . . they were all things that friends do. And, if monsters expressed their souls through fighting, maybe fighting is a way for monster friends to hang out with each other.

Ugh, I wish Mom had answered my phone call this morning. She would have probably given me a better answer.

I nodded my head and smiled at Papyrus. "Sure! We're friends. I mean, this is how monsters make friends, right?"

"I-I BELIEVE SO! WELL, THEN, FRIEND. TO START OFF OUR FRIENDSHIP, THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL GIVE YOU A GIFT!" Papyrus smiled.

I titled my head to the side in surprise. "A gift?"

Papyrus nodded his head. He then started to glow blue, just like he did whenever he summoned his bones. "BEHOLD! MY . . . NO! GO AWAY, YOU ANNOYING DOG!"

The sight I was met with was hilarious. Papyrus seemed to have summoned a statue of himself made entirely of bones. However, a small, white dog was gnawing on the fibula of the Papyrus statue.

And, with Papyrus's yell startling the dog, the dog pulled the fibula free from the statue. This caused the entire statue to fall apart like a stack of cards.

"AGH! COME BACK HERE! YOU ANNOYING DOG!" Papyrus yelled in anger.

The dog ran straight into the woods with the fibula still in its mouth. I watched as Papyrus followed after the dog, seemingly forgetting my entire existence.

 **Seeing a living bone chase a dog fills you with DETERMINATION.**

Once Papyrus was out of sight I started to laugh.

Hahahahahahahahahaha. Gawd, that was hilarious! That dog reminded me of the fight I had with Greater Dog.

All I had to do was throw my wooden stick away and Greater Dog would chase after it. That was one of the shortest fights I had and one of the most amusing ones. This dog probably wanted to play with a stick too. And, with Papyrus yelling at the dog, the dog probably thought Papyrus wanted to play as well, which is why it ran away with the bone in the first place.

I sighed. I should probably keep going forward. I was lucky that Sans wasn't here for the fight but, knowing my luck, I would probably meet up with him again. I don't know what I'm going to do once I see him again. But one thing was certain, Sans was _dangerous_.

I continued walking forward, to the next destination. The cold winds and icy floors soon faded away to make room for crystal floors and glowing waterfalls. A sign ahead of me read 'WATERFALL'. Next to the sign was a SAVE STAR.

I quickly went forward and touched the SAVE STAR. The SAVE STAR flashed a deep blue color, and another voice spoke.

 ***FILE SAVED. Know that you will face demons both inside and outside your world. However, your INTEGRITY will hold you throughout your fears.**

* * *

Sans sat in his sentry in Waterfall waiting for the human to pass by. It was only when the sound of footsteps echoed in the cavern that Sans deigned to open his eyes from his light nap to take a look around. Passing by his sentry was the Frisk.

"Hey, kid, what am I? A pile of _bones_?" At the sound of his voice, Frisk went still. Their back was tense and they turned to face him with a faintly nervous expression.

"H-hahaha. G-good one." They nervously twisted their hands in their sweater.

Sans narrowed his eye sockets at the kid before putting on a relaxed expression. The way Frisk was acting was suspicious. They better not have hurt Papyrus.

"Hey, you know, it's my break time. I'm gonna head over to Grillby's. Wanna come?" Frisk still looked tense. In fact, they even took a few steps from him.

Sans frowned mentally. What's got ya so nervous around me, kid?

Sans decided to try another tactic.

"C'mon, it'll be a date. You 'n me, pal. And you can't back out on a date. That'll be plain rude." He winked at the kid, trying to make them relaxed.

Frisk looked surprised at the wink. Then their eyebrows furrowed in thought. It was only when they nodded their head hesitantly that Sans walked out from behind his outpost and went near the kid.

"Great! I know a shortcut." Sans then grabbed Frisk's arm and walked with them deeper into Waterfall. While the kid was busy trying to match his walking pace, Sans subtly teleported them to Grillby's.

"Here we are pal." Sans then let go of Frisk's arm.

The kid gawked at Grillby's in shock. "B-but how! We were only at your post a second ago."

"Hehehe. It's a shortcut." Sans walked to the door and opened it for the kid, bowing as he did so.

The kid giggled at the theatrics and entered the bar. Sans then entered the bar right after them.

It was then that Frisk squealed, honest to stars _, squealed_. Sans turned around just in time to watch the kid run straight towards a group of the most feared Royal Guards, beside Undyne, in the kingdom.

Sans was about to activate his **[BLUE ATTACK]** to save the kid, but then the strangest thing happened.

Frisk jumped on the nearest dog monster . . . and started to _pet_ them. This consequently caused all of the other Royal Guards to lose their minds.

"Pet! Pet! I want to be pet! I want a scratch! I'm a good dog! I'm a good dog!" Most of the Royal Guards panted as they began nuzzling the kid to get their attention.

Sans just watched in shock as Frisk pet all of the dog monsters. Lesser Dog's neck was growing taller in height with each pet he was getting while Greater Dog's tongue was lolled out at the belly rubs. Doggo was literally howling with all of the attention the kid paid the spot behind his ears while Dogamy's and Dogaressa's legs were thumping on the ground due to the scratching Frisk gave them on their heads.

"K-kid?" Sans choked out.

The kid turned around to face Sans, a smile was on their face. "Yes, Sans?"

This was the most bizarre thing he had ever witness.

In fact, with how quiet Grillby's was, the patron were also probably baffled at what was happening.

"I think it's time that we go an' eat." Frisk's shoulders dropped down in disappointment.

"Aww . . . fine. Good-bye, doggies." The kid gave one last, final pat to the dog monsters before walking towards Sans. With that final pat, the Royal Guards seemed to have realized the scene they caused and pretended to act normally.

Frisk ran forward towards the bar and sat at his regular seat. Sans sighed at how energetic the kid was. Once he reached the bar he sat down on the other side of the kid.

However, once he sat down on the seat, a fart noise came out beneath him. Sans felt his eye sockets widen, a blush crept up on his face. This was the second time that he forgot that he laid a prank for the kid.

Frisk, hearing the sound, giggled. Sans decided to act cool. He pulled out the whoopee cushion he had planted earlier in the morning and pretended that it wasn't him who did the prank.

"It seems that some weirdo out there is hiding whoopee cushions in poor monster's seats." The kid gave him an amused look, knowing that it was his prank, but was courteous enough to play along.

It was then Grillby came and asked them what their orders were. "I'd like to have fries and ketchup. The kid'll have . . . ?"

Frisk stared at Grillby in fascination. "You're really pretty!" They blurted out.

Grillby turned a rosy pink at the compliment.

"Hey, kid. How come you didn't compliment me? I'm your date after all." Sans gently teased.

The kid blushed embarrassed. "I-I'm sorry! It's just he's really, really pretty. Not that you aren't what all the dogs _bark_ about."

Sans snorted.

Frisk then turned to face Grillby. "I'd like to have a burger, please." Grillby wrote down the order and then left to make their orders.

"So, kid. Mind tell me what happened with the Royal Guards an' all?"

The kid blushed then replied. "I like dogs. A lot. I always want to pet them whenever I see them so seeing a bunch of dogs there . . . I couldn't control myself. I actually met these dogs before I met you and Papyrus at that electric puzzle so I knew that they liked petting and stuff."

Sans let out a small 'huh'. That explained that whole scene with Doggo. Grillby came back and left their order on the table.

"Hey, kid. I need to ask ya'. Have yo-"

Before Sans could finish his sentence something hit his eye socket hard and caused him to fall on the floor.

"Oh my God! Are you okay?!" Frisk looked down at them in concern. Sans groaned in reply.

It seemed that while Sans was talking, the kid picked up the ketchup bottle and tried to squirt some of the ketchup in their burger. However, they were holding the cap to tightly that it caused the bottle to shoot loose from the cap and hit Sans in his eye socket. Fortunately, no ketchup spilled anywhere. Unfortunately, Sans was assaulted with severe eye pain.

"Wait here Sans, I'll get the bartender!" Sans just groaned and curled in a ball as Frisk left him on the floor.

Sans couldn't tell what happened after that, passing out from having his favorite beverage shot right into his eye socket. All Sans could remember was the faintest of voices saying one thing.

"This is the worst date ever."

* * *

I wandered around Snowdin, aimless. After that whole accident with the ketchup bottle, I brought Grillby to help Sans since I didn't know what to do with an injured monster. After checking Sans over, Grillby told me that I should bring Sans back to his house and that Papyrus would take care of the rest.

Which is what I did.

Papyrus was at his house, giving up on catching the dog and the bone. Once he saw Sans, he helped me bring him into his room and lay him down his bed. (The messiest room I have ever been in. I mean, there was a trash tornado. _A trash tornado_.)

Apparently Sans wasn't seriously injured. He just need some rest to recover from the shock and pain of having an inanimate object hit him in the eye socket. It was good news to hear. Despite Sans being a child killer, I didn't want to hurt him. Hurting him wouldn't bring the child back nor would it fully make up for the child being dead.

Still, once that issue was resolved, I decided to leave. Before I left, however, Papyrus gave me his phone number. Since we were friends an' all.

So now, here I am. Walking around. Restless.

 **There is a library nearby.**

I blinked at hearing the Narrator speak up. I looked around and spotted a small library. If the Narrator made notice of something then it's probably a good idea to check it out.

I entered the library. The first thing I saw was a monster sleeping in the check-out desk. I passed by the desk and headed to the history section.

I was quite curious about Soul Expression. Not to mention, all of the other anomalies I witnessed in the Underground.

Like, why was I frozen solid when I fought Flowey but was able to move when I fought other monsters? And, why can't my soul move further from my body? Why is it that attacks on my soul also cause physical injuries on my body? And, why is my soul a bright red color? How come Papyrus can take two turns?

 **Pick up the Old, Dusty Tome.**

I focused my attention on the giant, brown book that was hidden in the corner of the bookcase. It was the only book that seemed to match the Narrator's description.

I quickly picked up the book from its spot on the bookcase and carried it with me to a nearby table.

Once there, I placed the book on the table and opened it. There was no author or title so I went to the index of the tome for some information. There I spotted a chapter called 'Engagement'. Curious, I flipped to the chapter's page number and decided to start reading.

 _ **Engagement**_

 _When two monsters begin a_ _ **[FIGHT]**_ _with each other, it is called an Engagement._

 _In an Engagement, boards will appear with four options to choose from:_ _ **[FIGHT]**_ _,_ _ **[ACT]**_ _,_ _ **[ITEM]**_ _, and_ _ **[MERCY]**_ _._

 _Each option has a specific function._

 _ **[FIGHT]**_ _is activated when the monsters in Engagement wish to fight._

 _ **[ACT]**_ _is activated when monsters wish to interact in an Engagement._

 _ **[ITEM]**_ _is activated when monsters wish to use an item in an Engagement._

 _ **[MERCY]**_ _is activated when monsters wish to peacefully resolve an Engagement._

 ** _Purpose Of Engagement_**

 _Engagement is mostly used as a way to resolve an issue._

 _It is also used as a way to socialize since 'Soul Expression' is often involved in Engagements._

 _More rarely, an Engagement can be used as a way to bring out 'Soul Expression'._

 _Most Engagements are automatically created when one opponent is a magic user._

 _This is because the boards that are used for Engagements can only be summoned by magic._

 _*Soul Expression – The Expression of the Soul; Magic Power._

 ** _Engagement:_** ** _First Time_**

 _The first time a monster is brought in an Engagement, the monster in question would feel unnaturally heavy and not be able to move._

 _This feeling would occur because the body is still acclimating to the sensation of their soul being out of their body._

 _It is only when the monster becomes involved in more Engagements that the monster will become used to the sensation._

 ** _Engagement: Range Limit_**

 _In Engagements, the monster's soul will be stuck in a range limit._

 _This is due to the fact that if their souls leave the range limit, they will die._

 _The range limit is a naturally occurring limitation and will always be used when the soul is out of the monster's body._

 ** _Rules Of Engagement_**

 _In an Engagement, there is only one turn per monster._

 _There are some monsters who can bypass such limits, however, it takes much will power to do so._

 _Monsters cannot_ _ **[CHECK]**_ _their opponent's MP or_ _ **[FIGHT]**_ _,_ _ **[ACT]**_ _,_ _ **[ITEM]**_ _, or_ _ **[MERCY]**_ _options._

 _All_ _ **[MERCY]**_ _options are the same._

 _Monsters cannot see other monster's boards._

 _They can only see their ATK and DEF which adds up to their MP._

 _It is possible to harm grievously and/or to kill in an Engagement._

 _An Engagement is mostly used for one-on-one confrontations, however, it is possible for multiple people to be in an Engagement._

 _When this occurs, most of the monsters 'team-up' to make the Engagement more organized and even._

 _A monster's soul will always come out during an Engagement due to the nature of the boards._

 _However, monsters will only be able to see their opponent's soul when they_ _ **[FIGHT]**_ _._

 _This is because souls are private matters._

The next chapter that came up was 'Souls'. I continued reading on, engrossed in the tome.

 _ **Souls**_

 _A monster's soul and body are connected._

 _When the soul is attacked, the monster will feel pain in their body due to the connection between them._

 _Physical injuries would also appear due to the fact that any pain that the soul feels will be amplified to the monster's physical body._

 _This amplification would trick the monster's body to think that they were injured._

 _The monster's body would then injure itself to match the amplification._

 _When a monster's body is attacked, their soul won't feel pain._

 ** _Soul Colors_**

 _Souls colors can also determine the soul traits of a human._

 _For humans, their souls are shaped like hearts._

 _Their entire soul is colored the same color as their soul traits._

 _Most souls have multiple colors in varying ratios._

 _It is rare for a soul to only have one color, or for them to have all colors in equal ratios._

 _Cyan = Patience_

 _Orange = Bravery_

 _Blue = Integrity_

 _Purple = Perseverance_

 _Green = Kindness_

 _Yellow = Justice_

 _Red = Determination_

 _Each soul trait has a special magic ability._

 _Only a few monsters can use the special magic ability of their trait._

 _Because of this, many monsters do not know what the special magic ability of each trait is._

 _Most monsters use their family magic primarily with their personal magic coming in second._

 _Personal magic mostly depends on the monster in question and how they express their magic._

 _Most monsters will not have the soul trait of 'Determination' since such a trait will cause monsters to melt from the intense power._

 _Only Goat Boss Monsters can have this trait._

 _Even so, it still causes problems for the monster's body._

 _*Family Magic - Magic that has been passed down generations in family lines and are uniquely attributed to the family's character traits._

 _*Personal Magic - Magic that is expressed based on the individual monster rather than their family characteristics._

 _*Special Ability Magic - This Special Ability Magic is the magic trump card for each specific soul trait._

 ** _Souls: Differences Between Humans And Monsters_**

 _Monster souls, when they die, will shatter once their body turn to dust._

 _Human souls, however, have the power to still linger on._

 _Human souls that linger on will become 'spirits'._

 _Those human souls, if they lingered on for a long period of time, would convert from spirits into ghosts._

 _Ghosts are more powerful than spirits, with the ability to interact with the physical world, something that spirits are unable to do._

 _Ghost monsters are created from human souls._

 _Human souls, that linger after death for a long time, transform into Ghost monsters when surrounded by an abundance of magic._

 _Their souls become inverted from the magic, thus changing them into monsters._

 _Skeleton monsters are created from human bodies and human souls._

 _Skeleton monsters are formed similarly to Ghost monsters, the only exception is that the human bodies transform with their soul._

 _The abundance of magic that surrounds the dead human envelopes their soul and body, transforming them into Skeleton monsters._

 _Their souls become inverted from the magic and begin occupying a nearby vessel, the human's former exoskeleton, thus changing them into monsters._

 ** _Souls: Absorption_**

 _When a monster absorbs a human soul, they will gain tremendous power._

 _In fact, with one human soul, most monsters would be strong enough to match a Boss Monster._

 _If a monster absorbed three human souls, they would be strong enough to match a Human Mage._

 _It was theorized that a monster with seven human souls will have the power that rivals a God._

 _Humans cannot absorb monster souls._

 _This is due to the fact that monster souls shatter after they die._

 _However, it is possible that a human can absorb a Boss Monster's soul since they linger a few minutes before they shatter._

 _There has never been any records, however, of a human absorbing a Boss Monster's soul._

 _It is theorized, though, that if a human absorbed a Boss Monster's soul, they would be able to match the strength of seven Boss Monsters._

 _Monsters cannot absorb another monster's soul._

 _This is because monster souls disappear quickly._

 _They can only absorb their dust, this causes their LV or LOVE to rise._

 _It was theorized, however, that if a monster did absorb another monster's soul, they would enter a Fusion._

 _Fusion is where the souls of both monsters would be fused, creating an entirely new being._

 _Humans cannot absorb another human's soul._

 _If a human has another human's soul inside them, then it is called Possession._

 _The two souls in the body would fight to gain control._

 _This is due to the power of a human soul, the body can only handle one of them in control._

 _Dangerous side effects can occur with both human souls trying to take control of the body._

 _However, if the two human souls work together to take control of the body, Harmonization would occur._

 _Harmonization is when the two souls overlap with each other to closely resemble one synchronized unit._

 ** _The Power of LOVE_**

 _LOVE is a pow-_

"Closing time!"

I was brought out from my engrossed reading and looked up from my seat just in time to see the monster who was previously sleeping on the check-out desk checking out the books of a small bunny monster. I quickly got up from my seat and headed to the check-out desk. I was still curious about the contents in the tome so I decided to take it with me to continue my reading.

After the bunny finished checking out their books, I stepped forward and pushed the tome up on the desk. The desk monster didn't say anything at all about my appearance and, instead, bar scanned the tome and handed it back to me. I quickly grabbed the tome and exited the library.

Once out of the library, I pulled up my inventory and slotted the tome inside. I then dismissed the inventory and walked in the direction of Waterfall.

On my way there, I spotted the tiny dog that stole Papyrus's bone. It saw me and ran up to me, dropping the bone in its mouth on the ground and barking at me. I crouched down and pet the dog, causing it to bark happily.

"Aww! You're a good dog, aren't you? Huh? You just wanted to play, huh?"

The dog barked in reply. I smiled at the dog. "Hmm. You know, you need a name. . . . How about Snow?"

The dog only whined unhappily. "You don't like that, huh? Then how about Arial? Freddy? Nixon?"

The more names I said, the louder the dog whined. I couldn't really think of a good name . . . until the strangest idea occurred to me.

"How does Toby sound to you? Toby Fox?" The tiny dog started to bark like crazy.

"Hehehe. It seems you really like that name, huh? Who'd have thought I would name a dog after the guy who created _Undertale_?" I rubbed the dog's ears.

After a few more pets, the dog- Toby Fox –wiggled away from me. Once away from my affectionate hands, he barked at me a few more times before trotting off in another direction. I just waved him away.

Once I couldn't see him, I got up and dusted the snow off my body. I was about to leave before I realized the Toby Fox had left his bone. I picked the bone up and studied it. It was a sturdy object and really useful, something I could use to protect myself in a fight.

I decided to take the bone with me and pulled up my inventory, slotting the bone next to the tome I picked up from the library. It seems that the gift the Papyrus wished to give me ended up in my hands in the end.

Once that was done, I dismissed my inventory and started walking towards the direction of Waterfall once more. This time, there were no more interruptions.

 **Knowing that you have a friend in the Underground fills you with DETERMINATION.**

* * *

( * )

 _"HUMAN. ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU OF SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS. FEELINGS LIKE . . . THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL. THESE FEELINGS . . . THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!"_

 _\- Papyrus_

( * )


End file.
